confused about bootloaders & rooting

[roach]

confused about bootloaders & rooting .one thread says you can't root the maxxhd another says you can,then the samething with the bootloader that you cannot unlock it.then on a motorola site i see you can unlock a bootloader.so you can see i'm kinda confused.,can you unlock the bootloader and is there rooting for motorolas droid razr maxx_hd

• • https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/unlock-your-device-a

 

[KaChow]

The boot-loaders are locked thanks to Verizon on the Razr HD/MAXX HD. There is a Developer Moto Razr HD, costs $600, that has an unlocked boot-loader. Think of Boot-loaders and Rooting separately. Boot-loaders is what all of us want, that is an unlocked boot-loader that grants greatest access and control to the device. Rooting allows the ability to control apps, the use of SuperUser is required, this allows us to delete system apps, like Slacker. Root also allows the ability to flash ROMs, which I believe are flashed over the existing stock ROM. I could be wrong, I only have always had complete unlock and total control of my phones, which allows the ability to replace the original rom with a completely custom rom. Anything can be hacked, cracked and broken apart, just takes the Development.

 

[GoCliffGo05]

The MAXX HD is rootable but not unlockable. And the Developer Edition costs $600 before tax.

 

[kijutsu]

The boot-loaders are locked thanks to Verizon on the Razr HD/MAXX HD. There is a Developer Moto Razr HD, costs $600, that has an unlocked boot-loader. Think of Boot-loaders and Rooting separately. Boot-loaders is what all of us want, that is an unlocked boot-loader that grants greatest access and control to the device. Rooting allows the ability to control apps, the use of SuperUser is required, this allows us to delete system apps, like Slacker. Root also allows the ability to flash ROMs, which I believe are flashed over the existing stock ROM. I could be wrong, I only have always had complete unlock and total control of my phones, which allows the ability to replace the original rom with a completely custom rom. Anything can be hacked, cracked and broken apart, just takes the Development.

Bootloaders are indeed locked by Verizon.

You CAN flash a new rom over top of the existing stock ROM -- but often they do NOT work properly because of the locked bootloader. The locked bootloader requires a specific set of files based on what I think is an MD5 checksum verifying it's integrity AND a proper signature by Motorola/Google. I could go super technical but I won't.

Long story short --
Root -- Modify the existing system to a certain extent, teamed with Safestrap, you can use different ROMs.
Bootloader -- COMPLETELY replacement of the operating system and FULL CONTROL of the device.
Bootstrap -- Older method of modifying the software that does NOT support JellyBean, and ICS support is mediocre at best.

And finally... the only difference between a Razr and Razr Maxx is the battery. So anything that can be done to a Razr applies to Razr Maxx. In fact, there's a kit available to convert a Razr to a Razr Maxx for about $150, consists of a battery, cover, and replacement internal bracing. When installed, the Stock ROM suddenly thinks it's a Razr Maxx. So I'm pretty sure the same would apply to the HD version as well.

 

[macpro88]

Root just gives you superuser permissions to read AND write the /system/ partition, where the Android system apps are located, and allows you to use root applications.

The bootloader is what stores and protects the other important partitions, more importantly the /boot/ and /recovery/ partitions.

/boot/ is what stores and loads the kernel, the important piece of software that tells the hardware how to interact with the operating system
/recovery/ , when open overwrites the stock recovery to write a custom recovery such as ClockWork Mod Recovery, and allows certain functions like wiping data, flashing custom packages, etc...

Its a lot more complicated than this, but this is pretty much all we non devs need to really know to make sure we are doing the right things when modifying our devices.

 

[stealthmouse]

confused about bootloaders & rooting .one thread says you can't root the maxxhd another says you can,then the samething with the bootloader that you cannot unlock it.then on a motorola site i see you can unlock a bootloader.so you can see i'm kinda confused.,can you unlock the bootloader and is there rooting for motorolas droid razr maxx_hd

• • https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/unlock-your-device-a

Just saw this while searching for something else, so hope you manage to see this. The RAZR is rootable, and is not harder than any other device to root. The bootloader is locked, so it limits extensive overclocking or other CPU related changes that are related to the kernel. There is also a kexec bootloader bypass for the RAZR, which allows one to bypass the system checks at boot, and install custom kernels. That solution, however, is more of a beta build, and not something a typical user would be looking for. There are several custom ROMs for the RAZR, and they are not flashed over the stock ROM. They are flashed by either:

1. Completely wiping the stock ROM and flashing the custom ROM in its place. Can be returned to stock by Fastbooting an original stock image in recovery (as they become available - currently there's a JB leak, but ICS is the latest with an actual recovery zip that can be flashed in fastboot);
2. Using safestrap (alternative to fastboot, which doesn't work with later android builds), the stock ROM is retained, and an alternative ROM (or 2 or 3) are created using virtual memory slots created on the internal SD card;
3. Wiping an existing custom ROM and flashing a new one in its place.

The following link has the tools and information that you would need to root your device and prepare it for a custom ROM: Droid Razr Utility 1.82 [Windows] For Verizon Droid Razr And Droid Razr Maxx Only - DroidRzr.com

Also, FWIW, the custom ROMs out for RAZR are quite good, much better than the stock ROM in terms of speed. They are also more secure because much of the VZW bloatware is eliminated.

Best of luck!