[Tutorial] How to hack your Droid 2. All In One Thread.

[AngDroid]

I have decided to put up this guide for new users of the Droid 2 and Android in general. This will help you catch up for those that are not coming from the OD (Original Droid) or another Android device.

Everything in here is stuff I picked up from reading many different threads and the threads will be linked to.

I will try to go in steps that one would take to get their Droid 2 rooted and customized to his/her liking.

Hope you enjoy your Droid 2 and Android experience.

Root:
The first thing many want to do is root their phone. Root allows you to gain SuperUser permissions to system files so you may run programs such as Root Explorer, SetCPU, Titanium Backup and many others. This is much like running Windows as the Admin where you can change settings and files at will.

Superuser permissions for each app on Android devices is handled by an app called Superuser. It will be installed the first time you root your phone and can be updated from Android Market or from HERE.

You can Root your phone by two methods, using the ADB shell (command line) from The Android SDK or from a one click method directly from your phone.

Instructions for the one click method can be found HERE and HERE.
Instructions for the command line method can be found HERE.

Before you begin to root your phone you will need to prep your computer with drivers and Android SDK.

Motorola Drivers can be found HERE.

Android SDK with all install instructions can be found HERE. Installing the SDK can be tricky since you will need to install Java and the optional Eclipse package. Take your time to read and follow all instructions. The most common errors are not installing Java and not setting up ADB in your system settings correctly. If you run into problems with ADB then just double check the instructions and make sure you put the path of adb.exe correctly in the Windows Environment Variables.

You may also want to give Droid Explorer a try. It is a Windows Explorer type of app for Android devices and it will download and install Android SDK for you but you may need to still setup ADB in your Windows Environment Variables.

Now that you have your machine setup you can begin rooting and hacking your Droid 2.

Good luck with Root and welcome to the wonderful world of hacking your Droid 2!

Updating Superuser App after Rooting your phone:
With many changes to Superuser App your Rooting insturctions and files may have contained an older version. To update Superuser app do the following:
Open Command Prompt
Type or paste following commands
adb shell
su
mount -o rw,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
rm /system/app/Superuser.apk
pm uninstall com.noshufou.android.su
Goto Android Market from your phone
Search for and Install Superuser

Returning your phone to default software:
Just in case you need to return your phone or something got hosed during rooting or whatever else you can flash your phone with the default software by reading this thread.

Clockwork Recovery: A MUST HAVE BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE!!!
Download from Android Market or check here and make donation after you download.
Clockwork Recovery adds bootstrap to your phone. It allows your phone to bypass the default bootstrap so you have advanced functions to install ROMs, back up your system and much more.
BACKING UP YOUR SYSTEM IS THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD DO BEFORE MAKING ANY CUSTOM CHANGES TO YOUR SOFTWARE!!!

What can you do now that your phone has been rooted:
One of the first things you may want to do is remove any bloatware and programs you do not running on your phone. This is a good thread to read if you are unsure what is safe to remove.

Underclocking your CPU is a good way to save battery life you are stingy with your battery. You can do that by searching and installing SetCPU in market or by visiting this thread.

You can turn your phone into a hotpsot by searching and installing Wireless Tether for Root Users in market.

Block programs from starting up using such apps as Autostarts and Titanium Backup.

Clear lots of caches by using Cachemate.

Browse your phone using Root Explorer and also edit system files with it.

ROMs:
There are only a couple of ROMs out right now. You can find them in the ROM section of Droidforums.net or over at XDA. Fell free to check out my ROMs

Deodex Vs Odex:
Some apps (apk files) have files that contain settings and other info. They are named the same as the apk files but have odex ending. Some people claim that a ROM with the odex files removed (deodex) have better performance while others claim the opposite.

ROMs are usually deodexed so one can use custom themes.

You can check out this thread for the tools and instructions to deodex your ROM.

You may also check out this thread for a deodex system dump and instructions on how to install. This will save you the time from doing it yourself if you are not interested.

Busybox: What is Busybox? Click HERE to see.
Download Busybox-1.17.2 HERE
Extract busybox to your SD Card
Make sure you are in PC Mode and Debugging is enabled in Applications options
adb shell
su
stop
mount -o rw,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
cp /sdcard/busybox /system/xbin/
cd system/xbin
busybox --install /system/xbin/
mount -o ro,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
sync
reboot

Busybox

You can also use Root Explorer or whatever file browser you may use to copy busybox to your system/xbin folder. Some people use system/bin but I prefer xbin...just a habbit.

Thats about it for now and I will add more to this later...

 

[AngDroid]

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[AngDroid]

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[Redflea]

Cool - nice write-up, Motaboy, and a good service to the Droid community (along w/the ROMs you've been making).

One note that would be good to add in the Clockwork Recovery section...a large bolded, 24 point reminder that the first thing they should do right after rooting, and before any subsequent theme/ROM/modification, is make a nandroid backup, so they can revert when (not if, when) something eventually goes wrong.

Lots of pain would be avoided if more folks knew to do it/remembered to do that.

You might want to include a short description of why users would want to install busybox and how it's used in shell commands.

And maybe a note for the adventurous types in the Deodex/Odex section that simply deleting the Odex files is a bad idea. I've already helped one person who thought he could deodex that way after reading a post about deodexing.

Gonna add this thread to my "go here" list for noobs...

 

[microsnook]

This is helpful, thank you for taking the time to post it all up!

 

[wmnomore]

Hey guys got a question. i am coming from the droid 1 and have used rom manager. how do i use this with droid 2 now. i am able to see the same roms that i did with the droid 1. how do i refresh this list for d2, or how do i make it aware that i am now using a d2?
thanks so much,
chris

 

[MrKleen]

Hey guys got a question. i am coming from the droid 1 and have used rom manager. how do i use this with droid 2 now. i am able to see the same roms that i did with the droid 1. how do i refresh this list for d2, or how do i make it aware that i am now using a d2?
thanks so much,
chris

You are not able to use the same Roms as you were with the D1. You can use rom manager to install roms but presently there are none actually in rom manager.

 

[AngDroid]

Cool - nice write-up, Motaboy, and a good service to the Droid community (along w/the ROMs you've been making).

One note that would be good to add in the Clockwork Recovery section...a large bolded, 24 point reminder that the first thing they should do right after rooting, and before any subsequent theme/ROM/modification, is make a nandroid backup, so they can revert when (not if, when) something eventually goes wrong.

Lots of pain would be avoided if more folks knew to do it/remembered to do that.

You might want to include a short description of why users would want to install busybox and how it's used in shell commands.

And maybe a note for the adventurous types in the Deodex/Odex section that simply deleting the Odex files is a bad idea. I've already helped one person who thought he could deodex that way after reading a post about deodexing.

Gonna add this thread to my "go here" list for noobs...

Made the changes you suggested. If you are anyone wants to add to it just PM me the additions you would like to add and I will post them up.

 

[hydguy]

A few questions...

When entering Command Prompt to update Superuser, it says that none of the commands are recognized.. WHICH Command Prompt are you using? The Command Prompt in the SDK will not allow user inputs for me, and the Win CP is what I get the errors in...

Second, Clockwork Recovery for the Droid 2 isn't listed at the referenced site....

 

[hailtothetheif83]

Can I use terminal with the same commands to remove Super user so I can update from market?

Thanks for the help... Also for the great write up

 

[elcompaLalo]

Great write-up, thanks for taking the time to help us noobs. I'll be rooting my D2 soon and this thread will def come in handy.

Sent from Droid2

 

[Mr Bear]

Really appreciate this! Just wondering where to go now to the noob's guide for installing themes...

 

[want a droid]

Installing themes are pretty straightforward.

1. Make sure the theme you're installing is known to work on the current rom you're running.
2. Download the .zip and place it on your sdcard.
3. Make a backup.
4. Mount
5. Install .zip from sdcard
6. Say yes
7. Reboot

There you go!

And if you run into any problems you have your backup!

 

[Param]

So I'm learning how to install ROM's, very new to Android platform and just rooted.

In the android market through my phone, I search for "clockwork recovery" and I see 3 apps for D2.

Rom Manager Premium, 5$
D2 Recovery Bootstrap, 2$
Rom Manager, Free

I guess D2 Recovery Bootstrap is the absolute essential, through which I can create a backup of my rom. Will that proggy be enough for the rest of the installation of a new Rom or will I need other apps like the Rom Manager Premium?

 

[MrKleen]

So I'm learning how to install ROM's, very new to Android platform and just rooted.

In the android market through my phone, I search for "clockwork recovery" and I see 3 apps for D2.

Rom Manager Premium, 5$
D2 Recovery Bootstrap, 2$
Rom Manager, Free

I guess D2 Recovery Bootstrap is the absolute essential, through which I can create a backup of my rom. Will that proggy be enough for the rest of the installation of a new Rom or will I need other apps like the Rom Manager Premium?

Correct ... Bootstrap will be essential! Also download the free rom manager to help out also. With those there isn't anything you can't do! Good Luck!