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rooting and kernals and general point

so i've bought myself a samsung galaxy s2, or i-9100, supposedly the best phone on the market, but ive only used nokia keypad phones before, and I'm pretty sure i'm not using my new phone to its full potential.
some questions, what is rooting? i get the idea it lets me do whatever i want?
if I root my phone, does that wipe my Operating System (gingerbread 2.3.3?) and all settings and installed things? Does it also wipe user data like texts or photos?
what's a kernel, or kernel version, kernel source code etc...?
I want to get rid of some of the samsung branding software, because i can't see an option to install them. but some features like swype i like, can i "selectively" debrand the phone?
The general point of what I want is I want my new phone to work like my computer, uninstall programs i don't want and install ones i do want. (i've only ever used Windows) But i don't seem to understand almost everything on this forum

Rooting your phone allows you to change roms, boot up themes and will let you remove most apps and allow you to get some you can't have with out root axx, but most roms already remove the carrier bloat ware. It will remove all your apps etc though and txt. Think of it like reinstalling your os on your pc, rooting your phone will make you admin on your phone instead of a normal user.
You can also underclock your phones cpu to save some battery life if you want when it's rooted.
You can just move your photos to your pc/sdcard...
Point is though, rooting your phone is worth it give yourself some time getting use to it maybe read up on it on here there are tons of great tuts to show you and explain things to you.

Like @zookeeper525 said, rooting gives you full access to your phone. The process does not erase data or settings. You can root on a stock ROM, then flash a rooted custom ROM. There are a lot of good ROMs out there, and you can usually get great performance and improved battery life from a custom ROM. Every device is different, so your experience may vary.
A kernal is the core of the Android operating system. Custom ROMs come with a kernal that has usually been tuned for their specific ROM, but there are also custom kernals available that have even more features (overclocking, underclocking, undervolting, etc.).
With any of this, you stand to gain lots of control over your phone, but can also brick it if you're not careful. My advice is read, read, read, then read again before you proceed.
Good luck!

[Q] What to do with HTC Desire HD?

Hey
Im kind of behind with Smartphones because I had a Samsung D500 for several years, it was only a few months ago I upgraded and got myself a HTC Desire HD on Contract. Ive been using it completly standard, with all the official software etc..
Im beginning to get quite bored of it now though and I still have like 1 and a half years left on my contract.
All I seem to do with the phone is... standard SMS texting, phone calls, facebook, twitter and check a couple of websites every now and then.
I have read around and hear things about "ROMS" and "ROOTS", but dont really know what that means.
Im just wondering, if you had this phone.. What would you do with it exactly?
Something to make it look/feel like a new phone maybe..... I duno
Just want some opinions, recommendations really
Thanks

Custom ROMs
A stock ROM is the version of the phone's operating system that comes with your phone when you buy it.
A custom ROM is a fully standalone version of the OS, including the kernel (which makes everything run), apps, services, etc - everything you need to operate the device, except it's customized by someone in some way.
So what does the "customized" part mean? Since Android is open source, developers are free to take stock ROMs, modify them, strip them of garbage, optimize them, add things, and pretty much do whatever their imagination and skills allow.
Custom ROMs are oftentimes faster, more efficient, and use less memory because:
- the developer ripped out useless garbage, such as carrier installed apps or
- the developer optimized the kernel. For example, an undervolted kernel can provide a much better battery life than the stock one.
You can upgrade to a version of the OS that has not yet been released for your device, or never will be. This is possible in 2 situations:
- A leaked version of the new ROM showed up online, and the developer got on it like the fat kid chasing an ice cream truck.
- A ROM from another phone was ported by the developer to work on yours. For example, G1 and MyTouch 3G users may never see Android 2.1 officially released on their phones, but Cyanogen, one of the most respected Android developers, was able to create a custom ROM running 2.1 for those devices.
ROOTING:
Getting root or rooting your phone is the process of modifying the operating system that shipped with your device to grant you complete control over it.
This means you can overcome limitations that the carriers and manufacturers put on your phone, extend system functionality, and even upgrade it to a custom flavor of Android.
The name root comes from the Linux operating system world, where the most privileged user on the system (otherwise known as Administrator on Windows) is called root.
You have access to alter any system files, use themes, change boot images, delete annoying stock apps, such as Sprint's NFL Mobile live and Nascar Sprint Cup Mobile, and other various native applications that might drive you crazy (Footprints, Voice Dialer, etc).
On most rooted Android devices, you can back up your entire system to an SD card, much in the same way you can image a hard drive. This is great if you’d like to try a new ROM, as you can back up your phone, wipe it completely, flash the new ROM, and if you don’t like it, just restore from your backup to get your device back to exactly how it was before you wiped it.
The easiest way to do this at the moment is by using ROM Manager.
ROM Manager allows you to easily flash a custom recovery image which is what you will need in order to backup and restore your phone. The recovery image is a special program that can be booted into outside of the phone's main operating system, sort of like an OS recovery console on a PC. By default, the recovery image on most Android phones only gives you a few options, mainly related to wiping the phone. Custom recovery images expand upon these options and usually include scripts that can do things like backup and restore your system, fix file permissions, or allow you to flash custom ROMs that the normal recovery image would otherwise reject.
Normally, flashing a custom recovery image requires some command line work, either on your PC, or on a terminal emulator directly on the phone, but Koush's ROM Manager should automatically flash his custom recovery image (known as ClockworkMod Recovery) for you, provided you're on one of the supported phones and that it is already rooted.
Using ROM Manager is pretty simple. Download and install the application from the market, fire it up, and you’ll be prompted to allow the application superuser permissions - make sure you approve it.
The first thing you’ll need to do is flash the ClockworkMod recovery image that I mentioned earlier, which can be done right in the app (it’s the first option). ROM Manager should automatically find the latest version of the right image for your phone, download, and install it - the whole process is seamless.
After that is done, you can simply use the ‘Manage and Restore Backups’, and ‘Backup current ROM’ options to, well, backup your current ROM or restore from an existing backup.
Rooting Guide for Desire HD
Desire HD ROMs

If you're bored with the look and feel of the phone then by all means customize it. Custom ROMs etc can help with that, or even just trying another Launcher like ADW EX. Make it a project to do something creative and artsy and then post your work here. Rooting will allow greater scope of what you can accomplish, like changing the system Fonts, for example.
Really though, if you're not interested in that kinda thing, i'd suggest just doing more of what the phones are designed for in the first place, which is running applications. Perhaps you might edit your OP to request a list of entertaining apps so that people can throw out suggestions?
A few time killers that i enjoy:
IMDb (For watching trailers and reading about movies)
Cracked Lite (Funny and informative articles)
Amazon Kindle (Reading books on the go)
Wimp.com (Fantastic collection of videos. Think of it as youtube's greatest hits)

Heya thanks for that reply
Well I am interested in a custom ROM, it sounds cool. Especially if it removes crap I dont need to save my battery life etc
Id like to try a new ROM, I had a go last night and installed ROM Manager but it said something about it couldnt find superuser and told me to google it lol, so I went to sleep
Now I am awake I am willing to give it a bash and would like to do it
Dont think Id be much use trying to do my own though,would rather use someone elses if Im allowed too? A very fast/power efficient/nicelooking/stable one etc.. Any you recommend?
Just doing that successfully would be a big enough project for myself as its my first time Heh

Before I go ahead and break my phone, are these instructions the correct ones for me?
Shall I do what this says to setup superuser?
pocketnow.com/android/how-to-root-your-htc-desire-hd

Sorry I just noticed you have a big massive link with a guide for rooting my phone lol
I am going to do that now then thanks

As for ROMS, for my phone, is:
[ROM] MIUI 1.9.16 v.1: Freshly Squeezed Edition™ 16/09/11
The main custom ROM for me?
Would you recommend that one, from that link you posted, that one seems to be the only main one I can see

Need abit of help, got visionary on my phone. Ticked box r/w after boot or whatever and then when I click on Temproot now, it says rooting device etc.... but then it just goes to a black screen and stays a black screen.
Is this normal or is something going wrong?
- Apparently the latest firmware doesnt allow Visionary to work. I need to downgrade to an earlier firmware? How do I do that lol
Or should I just give up and stop now?

You have to downgrade to Froyo 1.3.2 first. Follow this guide.
Here's a guide for rooting, ENG and Radio S-OFF, Flashing radio and ROM

Flashing a radio?
Um this sounds abit to risky actually for my first time.
So from what I understand is, I could successfully flash my chosen custom ROM but the radio signal for phone calls/SMS texting and stuff.... could not work ?
I dont think I want to take that risk now Ive read that

dont flash any radios the one you have will work fine also have a look around in the dev forums.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=765

Im quite happy with what Ive done, someone mentioned to do it earlier on in this topic and its basically all I wanted, just a fresh look
I changed the HTC Skin to Slate, and then used the GO Launcher and using a green + black theme, done abit of customizing. Before all this I did a hard reset on the phone too, and using JuiceDefender. I like it, happy with it, feels fresh

Thanks for all the help and advice though I do appreciate

Flashing custom roms

I'm more of an android guy but my dad uses a hd7 that he also will use to tether. The current way he is doing it is that he is on NoDo (pre-mango) and the dial up hack (his HD7 is chevron unlocked). I was interested in flashing a Mango rom that has wifi internet sharing so I searched and think I have the method down for the most part but just want to make sure.
1. Charge battery up to 50%+
2. Hold power down while rebooting and go into OSPL mode
3. Flash RSPL (the temporary one) (basically follow directions in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1195647)
This is where I'm not quite sure if the steps are correct
4. Download the rom file and launch the .exe file (the phone is a TMO HD7)
Am I missing anything? I'm sorry if there is a how-to flash a rom but I didn't find a how-to that had a step by step.
Also, is there a major difference between the roms in the development section?
Thanks a lot!

You've got the basic idea, yes. I think for a full ROM you *might* need to use HSPL instead of just RSPL, but I'm not sure (and if you can do RSPL you can do HSPL too, easily). Custom ROMs typically come pre-packaged in a "RUU" program - that's ROM Update Utility. If you want one that's just available as a binary image, you can download the RUU separately.
The major differences between the ROMs will be things like:
What devices are supported (HD7 = Schubert).
What features are supported (not all Mango ROMs will have Internet Sharing via WiFi, for example).
What tweaks are included (most should come pre-unlocked, at least).
Anything that *doesn't* work (watch ut for this list).
What update mechanisms the ROM supports (custom CABs are common, for example).
Generally speaking, the DFT ROMs are pretty good, though many people use their ROMs as a base to build in additional capabilities.

GoodDayToDie said:
You've got the basic idea, yes. I think for a full ROM you *might* need to use HSPL instead of just RSPL, but I'm not sure (and if you can do RSPL you can do HSPL too, easily). Custom ROMs typically come pre-packaged in a "RUU" program - that's ROM Update Utility. If you want one that's just available as a binary image, you can download the RUU separately.
The major differences between the ROMs will be things like:
What devices are supported (HD7 = Schubert).
What features are supported (not all Mango ROMs will have Internet Sharing via WiFi, for example).
What tweaks are included (most should come pre-unlocked, at least).
Anything that *doesn't* work (watch ut for this list).
What update mechanisms the ROM supports (custom CABs are common, for example).
Generally speaking, the DFT ROMs are pretty good, though many people use their ROMs as a base to build in additional capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, it really helps knowing you have a understanding of something before you actually attempt to do it lol.
I figured out the Schubert information just reading about it and the rest I figured out while browsing over the roms. I think I'm going to go with this one for my first flash.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1271118
Thanks again for the help and hopefully all goes well.

DeepShining is popular as a high-capability ROM (lots of features), but be sure you read the Known Issues list. Things like possible problems with Connection Setup may be a problem if you use it for its legit purpose (fixing connection settings) very often, and the inability to use the CAB sender means future updates will probably have to be full ROM re-flashing.
If your dad has any app data on the phone that he'd like to preserve, such as game progress or things like that, let me know before you flash his phone. I've got an HTC data backup app that I'm ready to start a limited alpha test of. It's actually ahrd to find people who can test it on Mango though, due to the low number of people with interop-unlocked HTC phones, so a custom ROM that supports TouchXplorer (same DLL needed for my backup app) might make a good test. The app isn't even beta quality yet - I'm still adding things to it, and the codebase is a bit of a mess - but it works for the features it does have, most of the time.

[Q] Is it true that custom ROM's are always less stable than stock ROM's ?

If it's true, why is that? Is it because stock ROM developers are better?
Not being a troll. Honest question.
I'm just curious. I use galaxy Ace, and I would very much like to use a custom ROM to get rid of all the samsung junk apps. But if it's unstable, it may not be worth it.

No. Well made custom roms are usually more stable and faster than stock roms, especially for devices which have unoptimized stock roms, such as the SGS.
You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one.

Hi 314! Really, I didn't know that. How do I do it safely?

My personal experience is that custom ROMs have been every bit as stable as stock ROMs. I'm quite often running alphas and dailies and impressed with their stability. Of course, doing that, you're bound to run into some gotcha's from time to time but that's part of the fun of dailies, discovering the changes and surprises. I'm on Deck's alpha1 ICS ROM and it's been sweet, but alpha2 hasn't worked for me (wigetsoid seems broken). Shurg. So I restored alpha1, wait for alpha3, and try and get my post count up to give Deck some feedback in his thread.

Thanks mhwarfield. What are dailies? and what is OPS?

"You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one."
Well i heard this before in some youtube video but exactly not sure how and with which software may be (root manager). Please somebody with experience in this matter give us a full guide how to remove junk apps after rooting. Thanks in advance

rayhan0701 said:
"You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one."
Well i heard this before in some youtube video but exactly not sure how and with which software may be (root manager). Please somebody with experience in this matter give us a full guide how to remove junk apps after rooting. Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do that easy with "Titanium Backup" from the Market after you Rooted your Device. I think you dont need "Titanium Back Pro" to Remove Junk Apps.

rayhan0701 said:
"You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one."
Well i heard this before in some youtube video but exactly not sure how and with which software may be (root manager). Please somebody with experience in this matter give us a full guide how to remove junk apps after rooting. Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's really really not difficult.
Android stores all user apps in "/data/app"
all stock apps are stored in "/system/app" (this includes every system app, even the keyboard, camera and the gallery are in here)
this is the place where the junk apps should be ( i never had a bloated phone, but i guess they are in here, because we need root to manipulate files here)
now use a file explorer with root function (i use root explorer, and i definitely recommend it) and browse to this folder.
search the junkApp.apk and delete it.
you're done
EDIT: oh and yes, you can do it with titanium backup too, but i don't know if you need the pro version for it

Once you get custom ROMs out of Alpha/Beta/RC, they're better than stock, in my opinion. "Custom" means they can be designed for extra speed, power, leanness, beauty, or any combination of the above.
I don't mind helping out with betas and contributing to developers. Usually, by the time it gets to beta, most stuff is buttoned up nice and tight--plus I don't demand much from my phone.
Sounds like you got it covered with root and Titanium Backup. But do not fear the custom ROM.

It really depends. Some developers are EXTREMELY aggressive and throw a ton of crap into their kernel/ROM without much testing so they can "get ahead" - but often this leads to instability.
Others carefully fix issues one by one, with the exception of initially doing "standard" mods (like extended power menu on Android).
Some ROMs will often see releases coming out multiple times a week, often with lots of changes and reverting back and forth, and ALWAYS rebasing on the latest and greatest stock base, even before it's proven. This approach can sometimes pay off, but the risk of screwing up is high. Most such ROMs turn out to be crap.
Other ROMs take the most stable known base available, and fix whatever remaining known issues exist, and make a few standard tweaks. These are the ROMs that you still see people using more than three months after the last update. An example of this is VillainROM over in I9100-land. I only know of two issues with it - one has a one-time-after-install workaround, and the other is specific to trying to run that ROM on a device it wasn't designed for (I777).

[Q] [REQ] Custom Omnia ROM with only unlock added

First of all, I'm not sure in which forum does this belong. If it needs to be moved or removed, feel free to do so.
As the title says, I'm looking for a custom ROM for Omnia whose only modification would be that it's unlocked. I only need the unlock feature. Actually, I might not even need that right now, but in case WP gains some momentum, I expect more and more useful homebrew applications to be made, so I'd like to be ready.
The ability to do the unlock on my existing OS install would be perfect, but as far as I know, that is not possible.
There are now at least two popular ROMs for Omnia, but both of them stray too far from the stock experience for my personal taste. I find the stock experience to be as near as perfect as anything can be. Especially from the aesthetic aspect. I don't like those custom livetile themes for example.
I don't mind the adding of additional homebrew apps, since I can always remove them if i need, but I don't know how deep do these customizations go? I did notice some threads and post reporting problems. Would that also appear in any ROM, regardless of the depth of modifications, or is it because of some tweaks cooks are making?
in any case, I'd be thankful for any answer.

There are multiple levels of unlock; what are you thinking of? It's quite possible to dev-unlock and interop-unlock a stock Omnia 7 phone using the WindowBreak project. That will allow you to install any number of homebrew apps, and will allow you to use high-privilege apps such as WP7 Root Tools.
If you want "full-unlock" such as is required for the DFT BlueTooth File Transfer feature or to run the ported version of Opera, you'll need a custom ROM.

Well like Goodday says it depends on what you want to do. If you just want interop unlock then and still keep your official update path then Windowbreak is your route if you are not able to do use WindowBreak.
Then a custom ROM is your best option I would say the mi7ROM 1.3b 6 language is the best one for that. He has two ROMS 6 language which is mostly just the unlocks and a couple pre installed xaps Nokia, HTC, and a few others but they can be removed. He did not even put in the DFT Bluetooth app since some people had issues with it. He also has the 18 language ROM which is partly skinned and has many more xaps installed and a skinned theme.

GoodDayToDie said:
There are multiple levels of unlock; what are you thinking of? It's quite possible to dev-unlock and interop-unlock a stock Omnia 7 phone using the WindowBreak project. That will allow you to install any number of homebrew apps, and will allow you to use high-privilege apps such as WP7 Root Tools.
If you want "full-unlock" such as is required for the DFT BlueTooth File Transfer feature or to run the ported version of Opera, you'll need a custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't really know what level do i need. I'm now interop-unlocked, and i know that there are some homebrew apps that require full-unlock. For example, I'd like to have the possibility to mess with the registry. Not that I would use it a lot, but just in case that i need it sometimes.
I'm gonna go with custom rom.
chicagolive said:
Then a custom ROM is your best option I would say the mi7ROM 1.3b 6 language is the best one for that. He has two ROMS 6 language which is mostly just the unlocks and a couple pre installed xaps Nokia, HTC, and a few others but they can be removed. He did not even put in the DFT Bluetooth app since some people had issues with it. He also has the 18 language ROM which is partly skinned and has many more xaps installed and a skinned theme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What makes mi7rom better than xda devs 3.0 rom?
I'm not really sure, they both seem to have not that many modifications (which is good), but xda devs seems to be the newer build, so I was planning to go with it.

Um, interop-unlock is all that's required to mees with the registry. That's been true since the first registry editors (of course, back then there was no interop-lock to unlock, but the editors work the same now as they did then). It's also enough to use WP7 Root Tools, which
A) contains a registry editor (and a filesystem browser)
B) allows you to run some apps that previously required full-unlock.
It won't do Opera or BlueTooth file transfer, but it will do pretty much all the other apps

GoodDayToDie said:
It won't do Opera or BlueTooth file transfer, but it will do pretty much all the other apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm, that sounds great. But if you had to guess, would you say there are going to be some more apps that require full unlock?
Also, and i know this might be a very stupid question to ask, will hard resetting the phone remove the interop unlock? Because as i said, i do need to do a hard reset, because marketplace has finally landed in my country so i'm changing liveID, and i have this samsung update that fixes the hole windowbreak has been using.

Yes, hard-resetting a stock ROM will remove the interop-unlock. You can, however, roll back to a previous firmware version (one compatible with the Windowbreak hack) and then hard-reset.

GoodDayToDie said:
You can roll back to a previous firmware version (one compatible with the Windowbreak hack) and then hard-reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I know if my zune backup is of the compatible firmware version?
If it's not, how can I do that manually? There is a thread with links to official firmwares but all the links are dead. Do I need magldr for these? I have an Omnia bought in T-mobile in Croatia, but I've additionally did SIM-unlock. Is there some kind of an archive of those firmwares?