Before I root...

[event121]

Couple questions / clarifications before I root:

1. Is it recommended to do any type of backup of the phone beforehand in case things go wrong or in case I want to go back? Settings/Contacts/Apps/AppData do not matter to me.
-If yes, what is the best way to back the phone up?

2. Is it recommended to Factory Reset the phone or format the memory card prior to root?

3. Any recommendations for someone who will be using Windows 7 64-bit? (Saw some posts about setting the USB mode to Charge Only if things weren't working.)

4. If I want to un-root and I use the rootzwiki bomb stuff, do the things in Menu > Settings > About Phone go back to the original versions as if I just got it from VZW? (Baseband Version, etc.)


I come from an Omnia i910 background (2+yrs of flashing and modifying the heck out of that thing) and I always had the stock updates I could flash back to in case things went wrong or in case I needed a replacement (never did, but I'd hate to have a savvy tech tell me my phone info is 1 character off and that means I rooted and voided my warranty - would like it to be as transparent as possible if I want to go back to stock).

Any help is appreciated. Look forward to learning and helping as much as I can!

 

[mwhartman]

You should make a backup before you make any changes to your OS. It can save you hours of work and frustration. Check out MyBackupPro and Astro. I know Astro will allow backups for non rooted phones and I believe MyBackUp Pro will as well. Once you root, if you want to save your settings, apps, and data then use either MyBackUp Pro or Titanium.

Anytime you install a new OS (rom) I believe you should wipe data and cache.

After you root, make a backup before you install a new rom. That backup can be useful should you decide that you do not want a rooted device.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[Redflea]

Couple questions / clarifications before I root:

1. Is it recommended to do any type of backup of the phone beforehand in case things go wrong or in case I want to go back? Settings/Contacts/Apps/AppData do not matter to me.
-If yes, what is the best way to back the phone up?

No - the root process changes things you can't back up before you're rooted. It's kind of a Schrodinger's (sp) cat thing.

2. Is it recommended to Factory Reset the phone or format the memory card prior to root?

Nope - won't help, won't hurt.

3. Any recommendations for someone who will be using Windows 7 64-bit? (Saw some posts about setting the USB mode to Charge Only if things weren't working.)

I've heard of some difficulties w/that OS, but have no specifics. Good luck.

4. If I want to un-root and I use the rootzwiki bomb stuff, do the things in Menu > Settings > About Phone go back to the original versions as if I just got it from VZW? (Baseband Version, etc.)

Yes - if you SBF back everything in About get's reverted back.

I come from an Omnia i910 background (2+yrs of flashing and modifying the heck out of that thing) and I always had the stock updates I could flash back to in case things went wrong or in case I needed a replacement (never did, but I'd hate to have a savvy tech tell me my phone info is 1 character off and that means I rooted and voided my warranty - would like it to be as transparent as possible if I want to go back to stock).

Any help is appreciated. Look forward to learning and helping as much as I can!

Have fun...best guide I've found is the verbose one here:

xda-developers - View Single Post - How to root the Droid 2

 

[TG617]

I rooted mine using Win 7 x64 and had no issues. Phone was in PC mode.

 

[hookbill]

You should make a backup before you make any changes to your OS. It can save you hours of work and frustration. Check out MyBackupPro and Astro. I know Astro will allow backups for non rooted phones and I believe MyBackUp Pro will as well. Once you root, if you want to save your settings, apps, and data then use either MyBackUp Pro or Titanium.

Anytime you install a new OS (rom) I believe you should wipe data and cache.

After you root, make a backup before you install a new rom. That backup can be useful should you decide that you do not want a rooted device.

Hope this is helpful.

I don't see how it's helpful to back up your apps with My Backup Pro. You can't do a system back up with it, to the best of my knowledge. And if you brick your phone how do you launch into recovery? You can't.

Until they find a way to use SPRecovery on the D2, and I realize that may never happen, I'm not rooting.

 

[karnovaran]

By the way, there have been no reports of bricks due to rooting the D2... because it's not even possible. You can only brick by interrupting a radio flash (which has nothing to do with the rooting process) or perhaps making the e-Fuse angry (which again has nothing to do with the rooting process), but even that hasn't happened yet.

Somewhere along the way, the proletariat got the idea that root = risk of brick. Perhaps that's because the line between rooting and flashing custom firmwares was too blurred in the G1 days, I dunno. Whatever the case, it's a misconception that really needs to go away so people can stop worrying.

 

[Redflea]

You should make a backup before you make any changes to your OS. It can save you hours of work and frustration. Check out MyBackupPro and Astro. I know Astro will allow backups for non rooted phones and I believe MyBackUp Pro will as well. Once you root, if you want to save your settings, apps, and data then use either MyBackUp Pro or Titanium.

Anytime you install a new OS (rom) I believe you should wipe data and cache.

After you root, make a backup before you install a new rom. That backup can be useful should you decide that you do not want a rooted device.

Hope this is helpful.

I don't see how it's helpful to back up your apps with My Backup Pro. You can't do a system back up with it, to the best of my knowledge. And if you brick your phone how do you launch into recovery? You can't.

Until they find a way to use SPRecovery on the D2, and I realize that may never happen, I'm not rooting.

I think you're confused...there's no need for SPRecovery on the D2... CWRecovery is available now to install once you are rooted.

And if you need to get back to stock you can use RSD Lite and the available D2 SBF file to return the phone to as-shipped/stock status.

I've never heard of anyone but a developer fooling around w/more complex stuff than rooting or installing a ROM "bricking" a phone....getting a D2 into a state where you could not use SBF to get the phone up and running again would be very, very difficult to do.

 

[event121]

Thanks all!

From what I've read all over the internetz the act of just rooting the phone is absolutely fine and the misconception that it can "brick" the device is strewn from those that have failed to copy/paste, come from a WinMo background where they flashed ROMS, and/or the random acts of God(s).

-I have no need to factory reset/wipe my device prior.
-I should install a backup program and backup my phone after rooting.
-There is only one ROM out there as of this post (Epic).

Any recommendations on Backup Applications or "Must-Haves" for those that have just ventured into rooting?

Also is there any place I can find or can someone post a short synopsis on what to beware of when "flashing"(?) a different rom? When I was flashing WinMo roms, we were focusing on freeing up memory, clearing out bloatware, building in apps or fixes into the rom, etc. Is it the same with android or are we changing much more/less?