PandaCasts Blog

How to Easily and PROPERLY Install Windows on a Mac, from start to finish.

2011-07-31T04:09:00.000-07:00

So this is a 3-part series, with 3 videos to correspond.
Items you'll need:

Mac with CD drive
Windows 7 install disc
Mac OS X Installation Disk (preferable, but not necessary)
1 hour of free time (updates can take forever depending on your internet speed)

Ready?

Part 1 - EFI and Installation

First we'll need to set up rEFIt. It's optional, but I prefer it because it will let you choose which OS you want to boot into anytime you start up your computer.
Go to this webpage:
Download the rEFIt Mac Disk Image
Open the .dmg file you just downloaded, and run the installer package. Should be done pretty quick.
Now you're set with that!
Next, go to the Utilities folder in your Applications, and open "Boot Camp Assistant".
The program is pretty simple, and will walk you through the following steps:

Choose to download windows support software ONLY if you do not have a Mac OS X Installation disk. If you do have the disk, then choose the 2nd "I have already..." option.
Choose how large you want your Windows partition to be. You will also see a self-explanatory "Divide Equally" button.
Start partition. DO NOT TOUCH YOUR COMPUTER WHILE THIS IS GOING.
Once it's finished partitioning, it will ask you to insert your Windows 7 disk and start loading files. Move on to part 2 of this guide.

Part 2 - Setup and Installation

It will take a minute or two to boot from the disk, but once it does you will choose your language, keyboard, etc.
Click next after you choose, then "Install Now".
After setup starts, we have a somewhat tricky part.

If you get a screen to choose which architecture to install, "x86" is 32bit (older), and "x64" is 64bit (newer, but make sure you have a computer that can handle it. Most new macs (~2009 or older).

Accept licensing terms.
On the next screen, choose "custom install".
This following screen is annoying. You will see a list of partitions. You must reformat your windows partition.

Choose the partition labeled "BOOTCAMP".
Once you have "BOOTCAMP" selected, click "driver options (advanced)" and then click "format". Make DAMN sure you have the correct partition selected!

Once formatting is done and you still have the BOOTCAMP partition selected, click next.
It will now start installing Windows 7. This will take quite sometime. Go watch a TV show or two, eat dinner, stalk people on facebook.

It will say "Expanding Windows files (0%)" for an unreasonable amount of time, but don't worry, it hasn't hung up on you!
It may (and probably will) reboot several times.

It will eventually finish and have you set up your account. Do so.
Choose your system settings, I prefer to choose "Recommended" settings.
It will continue finishing up the installation, and then reboot again.
Continue onto part 3, which is the easiest, but probably most important part (that most other youtube videos leave out). Making your windows not only functioning, but also functional.

Part 3 - Drivers, Updates, and rEFIt

Log into your Windows account.

I like to first adjust my screen resolution (optional) by going to Start > Control Panel > Adjust screen Resolution (located below Appearance) and setting it to the highest possible.

Eject your Windows 7 Install disk by going to "My Computer" and right clicking the disk and choosing "Eject".
Put in your Mac OS X Install Disk.

Don't choose autorun. Instead, choose explore all files, then in the folder that opens up, open the "Bootcamp" folder, then run the setup.exe in THAT folder.

After the Bootcamp setup.exe finishes, you'll have the Apple Software Update application open up. Install the updates.

This will take some time too.

You may notice Windows start installing some of its own updates during this. Whenever the Apple Software Update finishes and wants you to restart though, go ahead and restart, we'll do the Windows ones after.
Once it restarts and you log back in, go to Start > Control Panel > System & Security > Check for Updates. Run all the recommended updates.

This will take awhile too. Restart upon completion.

After this last restart, it will boot into windows once more. Now click the arrow in the dockbar on the bottom right, then click the grey diamond shape labeled "Bootcamp" and choose "reboot into Mac OS X".
Once it restarts in Mac, open up an application from your Utilities folder called "Terminal"
Type the code "sudo /efi/refit/enable-always.sh" without parenthesis, then type in your password. This will rebless rEFIt. Should it ever not show up on startup, just run that code again. It gets borked if you ever hold down the power button until the computer shuts off (as opposed to "correctly" shutting it off).
Restart the computer to confirm rEFIt is working. Then you're done!

Enjoy having your computer dualbooted, and I hope this guide was helpful!

How to Change Boot Animation on Android

2011-07-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

Another easy but very cool thing to do!

First thing's first: Links

For those of you that want the Nexus S boot animation, download this.
For any others, www.xda-developers.com has a great selection! Just search the forums.
You'll need to install the Root Explorer app on your phone.

Second, your phone needs to be ROOTED, with a kernel that supports custom boot animations. If you've flashed a ROM, chances are you have one, but always good to make sure!
Download your animation and rename it "bootanimation.zip". DON'T UNZIP IT.
Put the bootanimation.zip on your SD card.
Open up Root Explorer (grant root permissions whenever it asks) and navigate to your SD card. Press and hold bootanimation.zip there and select "Copy".
Press the back button (the touch button, not one on the screen), and then open the "system" folder.
When you're in "system", continue and open the "media" folder.
In "media", if you look at the top right you'll see "Mount R/W". Press that button. It should now say "Mount R/O". You've just given yourself permissions to write to this folder!
You'll see there's already a bootanimation.zip on there, this is the current one. At the bottom of the screen you should still have a button that says "Paste". Press that button and replace the current boot animation with your new one.
Done! Reboot your phone to test :)

How to Update Your ROOTED Evo to 2.3 Sprint Update (Without Losing Root or Data!)

2011-06-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

Many people have found out that after rooting their HTC Evo, they cannot accept the newest Sprint update (upgrading to the 2.3.3 firmware). This walkthrough explains how to do it, while keeping root! :)

For those of you familiar with ROM flashing, this is exactly the same method, just we treat the update as a ROM. Naturally, we'll also have to use a ROM-ified version of the update.

Steps:

Root your Evo on 2.2 firmware (see my video and/or blog post for instructions). If you've already done this, just skip to the next step.

If you use a method other than Unrevoked to root your Evo, you'll need to make sure it's "S-OFF", then download ROM Manager from the market and flash Clockworkmod Recovery.

Download the files you'll need!

The Odexed zip of the Sprint update: download here.
PRI/WiMax/Radio update zip: download here (FIXED!).

Back up all of your data!

Back up contacts by going to them, pressing menu, then Import/Export, then export to SD card.
Back up apps using an app called "Titanium Backup". Follow video for instructions.
(Optional) Back up SMS and Call Logs. Search the market for a developer named "Retish Sahu", download the corresponding apps. Easy as cake :)

Place the two .zip files you downloaded onto the root directory of your SD card. To do so, plug in your phone, put in Disk Drive mode, then click and drag the two files onto the icon on your computer. All "Root Directory" means is that it's not in any subfolders.
Turn off your phone.
Boot into bootloader by pressing and holding the power button and volume down button at the same time till the white bootloader screen shows up.
Give it a second, some text will appear, then go away. After, scroll down to "Recovery" using the volume down button, then select it by pressing the power button.
It will reboot into Clockworkmod Recovery (Amon Ra users, you probably know what to do for the next step).
Once in Clockwork (this part's a little deviated from the video):

Scroll down to "Wipe Data/factory reset" with the volume buttons and select it with the power button.
On the next screen, select yes.
Let it wipe (this is why backing up your data is important. Don't worry though, it doesn't touch the SD card).
After this, select "Install zip from sdcard", then "choose zip from sdcard".
Select your PRI/WiMax/Radio update zip, then select yes, then let it work.
After it's done, repeat step 4 and get back to your list of files. This time select your Evo update, and do the same.
After it's all done, select "Reboot System Now" on the very first screen of clockworkmod!

After all this, it will reboot and you'll be on the newest version! All that's left is to restore your data, which should be pretty clear on how to do after you backed them up. All the "Restore" options are right next to the "Backup" options you used/

Enjoy!http://download1397.mediafire.com/bb0qwr8xfpfg/v5ag1b5gtjjbsag/EVO_Radio_2.15.00.05.02_WiMAX_27243_PRI_NV_2.15_003.zip

How to NAND Flash Android to HTC HD2 in 4 simple steps.

2011-05-07T00:23:00.000-07:00

(WINDOWS ONLY)
This process is one of the easiest ones, but one of the hardest to find out how to do due to the huge amount of old, out-of-date methods on YouTube and elsewhere. This method works, and probably always will.

Make sure you have at least 50% battery remaining (it won't let you continue until you do). Phone remains plugged in during this whole process.

First, you need your files!

HSPL4 (download here)
MAGLDR 1.13 (download here)
Clockworkmod Recovery (Recovery_150 download here, use 150 if you're going to flash cyanogenmod)
Download a ROM of your choice, I prefer Hyperdroid (found here)

Unzip only the first 3 files, and place the ROM zip on your SD card.
So, here we go!
Remember to back up all of your contacts and any data stored on the phone that you want to keep, because you will be wiping windows off ENTIRELY.

HSPL4

Plug in your phone.
Right click the HSPL4 file and select "Run as Administrator"
Go through the screens, then when it's connecting to your phone your phone will go into bootloader (red, blue, and white screen)
Select HSPL 2.08 when it comes up, hit next. Let it work.
It'll popped up saying "We hacked it!", and you'll see it on your phone. Click yes, then ok and you're done with this step! Phone will restart.

MAGLDR 1.13

After phone's restarted, go to the MAGLDR folder, right click "ROM Update Utility", and Run as Administrator.
Checkmark the necessary boxes to continue through steps. Then click "Update", then click next through screens.
Once it starts updating ROM image, it taks about 2 minutes. Then click finish.
Phone will reboot into MAGLDR.
Navigate MAGLDR using the volume up and down keys. Use the green button to select (you may have to click twice).

(At this part in the video I uploaded the ROM zip, I'm assuming you already loaded it though, so skipping on).

Flash Clockworkmod_150

Scroll down on MAGLDR to option 5 "USB Flasher". Don't select it yet.
On your computer, go to the Clockworkmod folder, right click the DAF file and run as administrator.
Click next until it gets to waiting for USB.
Now press the green button to put it in the mode.
Text will start to appear on the phone screen, and the Clockworkmod flasher will do its work.
Once done, click finish, and MAGLDR will reboot. It may say something like "kernel fail", it's normal, don't worry about it.
Scroll down to number 8 "AD Recovery", select it.
It'll say Go Go Go Go, and then you'll be in Clockworkmod Recovery!.

Clockworkmod

Use same buttons to navigate clockwork.
Scroll to Wipe Data/Factory Reset, then yes, let it wipe.
Do the same with Cache.
Then scroll to Install Zip, then select zip from SD card, then choose your ROM zip.
Select yes to flash it.
Let it do its work.
Go back using the back button to the first clockwork screen, then select "Reboot System Now".
MAGLDR will pop up, but then boot immediately to AD Nand. A little android should pop up on your screen and animate a little.
A couple minutes later, you'll be at the Android set-up!

That's it! Enjoy!!

How to Get Sick Battery Life on the Evo (or Any Other Android Phone)

2011-02-09T18:55:00.000-08:00

This method gets me about 20-24 hours of solid battery life, and that's with using it like a normal college student would (texting, email, facebook during class, wifi tethering, etc).

Four Steps:

Root your phone and flash Clockworkmod or Amon Ra recovery.

If you're on the Evo, you follow my video or directions on this post.
Any other android phone, just find out how. Most phones have a One Click method of some sort and then ROM Manager can flash a recovery image. Check out my videos on other phones.

Download and install "Autokiller Memory Optimizer" from the Market. It's a free app, and requires root permissions.

Open the app, press Menu, then select presets.
I prefer to use the "Optimum" setting, but it's up to you.
Select "Apply" and grant SU permissions.
You're set!

Download and flash a kernel that supports overclocking.

Evo users: I like to use Netarchy's kernels, found here.
Other phones: Do your research! Make sure the kernel will work with whatever ROM or stock you are using and supports overclocking.

Download the kernel, it will be in a .zip extension. Do NOT unzip it.
Place the kernel file onto the ROOT of your SD card, meaning it's in no folders.
Reboot your phone into recovery, choose flash zip file, choose zip from recovery, and then flash the kernel zip (watch the video to see this process).
Once it's done, restart your phone.

Now that you're phone's restarted, go to the Market again and download "Overclock Widget". This is also free and requires root permissions and a kernel that supports overclocking.

Press and hold on the screen, select widget, and choose OW. It's 1x1, so doesn't take much space.
Once it's on the screen and starts to show numbers, select it.

Evo users, set the "maximum" bar to 800 MHz, or lower if you want even better battery. I find 800's a good sweet spot where you get the battery saving without sacrificing phone performance.
Other android phones: Set it to about 20-25% lower than your phone's usual bus processor speed.

Done! Enjoy your better battery life :)

Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Rooting

2011-01-09T01:37:00.000-08:00

ROOTING
Rooting is a very popular thing to do with your android phone these days. It allows you to do a number of things you wouldn't normally be able to do, such as use apps that require root permissions (wifi tethering, real backups, etc), flash custom/cooked ROM's, flash kernels, remove bloatware. and overclocking. Before you attempt rooting however, there are several things you should know first:

"Rooting" is, in vernacular terms, the Android OS equivalent of say, jailbreaking an iPhone.
To be exact, it means several things:

Name for an administrator on Android or any other Linux system.
The lowest level in a file system (for example: the root of your SD card would be the screen that comes up when you first open it, no other sub-folders.)
It also means having administrative powers over your phone.
It also voids your warranty if your phone company finds out.

So basically, by extension, rooting a phone means giving yourself rooting privileges. Think of it like this: Say you have an HTC Evo. Android is open-source, but you're only allowed to do on the phone what Sprint allows you to. Sprint wants to charge people $30 or $40 per month to do wifi tethering. A rooted phone could do wifi tethering for free, as you would be the administrator, and override the block.

PROS and CONS

Pros

Superuser permissions (full control over your phone, down to terminal commands).
Use root-requiring apps (wifi tether, backups, etc).
Over/underclocking
Ability to use a custom recovery.img (for flashing).
Flash custom ROMs and kernels
Flash other .zip files
Removing bloatware (apps that you don't want or need but can't normally delete)
Upgrading your firmware to later versions (such as phones that won't get the Froyo update)

Cons

Voided warranty
Possibility of bricking device
Possibility of damaging hardware

The cons are easy to avoid, as long as you do everything correctly and do your research first. As for your warranty, it's often just easier to say your phone was lost. If it's still covered by warranty, then you could be covered for it.

ROOTING METHOD
For how to root your phone, the internet is your best friend. However, if you are not comfortable, then look to see if you can get someone experienced to do it! My personal favorite resources are:

Written Instructions:

Cyanogenmod Wiki
My Blog! (Still growing)
XDA Developers

Video Instructions:

Youtube

(See my youtube vids)

The Unlockr

For having someone do it for you: See craigslist. Someone may be offering the service or you can ask for it.

ALWAYS DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST!

GROUND BASICS OF OPERATING A ROOTED PHONE:

A rooted phone acts the same as a non-rooted phone. The difference is usually under the hood.
You will need an application called "Superuser", downloadable from the app market. Most rooting methods install this automatically. It will have one of these two icons:

Any time something requires root permissions, it will ask for them. The first time around, you'll get a popup screen like this.

Just checkmark next to "remember" and you won't be prompted in the future.

Some popular apps that require superuser permissions:

Wifi Tethering - Self explanatory.
Titanium Backup - A powerful app for backing up your apps and data and restoring them (very useful if switching phones or if you wipe yours).
Autokiller - A powerful memory optimizer, helps with battery.
Overclock Widget - A widget that lets you overclock or underclock your processor. This requires a compatible kernel, which we'll get to in a second.

ROMs

ROM technically means "Read Only Memory", or your flash memory. In Android context though, it means porting modified version of Android onto the phone. This is really where the magic of open-source comes into play:

ROMs usually come in ".zip" file format. DO NOT upzip them
ROMs are customized firmwares for your phone. "Customized" and "Cooked" are synonymous in Android context, and developers are the chefs. A ROM can be:

A minimalistic, fast firmware, and have certain features unlocked.
Upgrade your phone to 2.2 or 2.3 if you're stuck on an older firmware.
A completely new look and feel for people who don't like how their phone UI currently is (prevalent with many HTC Sense users).
An overclocking monster.
An undervolted battery saver.
Some combination of the above.
A quick way to brick your phone.

Bricking means your phone is an expensive paperweight, a "brick". Dead.

Notice the last bit about bricking. This is the biggest underlying risk in the rooting business. Many phones have corresponding software that will root the phone for you (Unrevoked, OneClick, SuperOneClick, z4root), but flashing is done manually, and someone who doesn't know what they're doing can brick their phone. Here is a basic guide to flashing:

Download a ROM

Good places to look are XDA or Cyanogenmod.
ROM Labels:

Vanilla - The stock ROM that comes standard on a phone.

BACK UP YOUR INFORMATION.

This includes apps, contacts, texts (optional), and call logs (also optional).

You need to install a custom recovery, such as Amon Ra or Clockworkmod. Clockwork is the easiest to install IMO, and both are operated almost the same way.

Many softwares for rooting, such as Unrevoked, flash a new recovery image automatically.
If your method didn't, you can download an app called ROM Manager from the market. After installation, open it, and click "Flash Clockworkmod Recovery".
If the first two steps didn't work, then you'll have to research a way how.

Go to recovery mode, either from ROM Manager or manually.

Look up how to boot into recovery. For most phones, you'll navigate to it from the bootloader. which is started by turning on your phone while holding some combination of volume/camera buttons and the power button. Bootloader looks like this on most phones, though some vary (particularly Galaxy phones):

Your recovery will look like this:

Now there are a couple of important rules of thumb with flashing:

Always make a NAND backup. Navigate to it from the "nandroid" option in recovery. This is a little different than just backing up your contacts and pictures. It backs up your phone system as-is, like a sort of picture (metaphorically of course) of that moment. This gives you something stable to come restore to if something goes wrong.
When flashing a new ROM, if it's not just an update of the one you currently have, you SHOULD "wipe data/factory reset" and "wipe cache partition". Your information we backed up earlier is on your SD card, which remains untouched.

Now, ready to continue?

Select "install zip from sdcard", then "choose zip from sdcard".
Navigate to your ROM zip(s).
Select it, then scroll down to "YES".
LET IT FINISH. DO NOT TOUCH ANY BUTTONS.
Steps 1-4 of this section are what "FLASHING" means.
When it's done, repeat steps 1-4 of this section for any other zip files associated with it (themes, kernels, tweaks, etc)
When you're done, navigate back to the initial screen of your recovery mode using the "***go back***" options at the bottom of each list. From here, select "reboot phone now".
It will install any remaining packages now. Again, LET IT DO ITS WORK.
Your phone will reboot. If it locks up on boot, try reflashing, or if it just won't work, restore from a NAND backup.

There you have it. A new ROM is a big plus to many with androids. Those who are stuck with 2.1, or even 1.6 and 1.5 now can get a 2.2 ROM and upgrade their firmware, etc. You will no longer receive updates from your provider though, so it is your responsibility to keep your phone up to date by checking the developer's ROM updates, or if you like it as is and don't mind, just keep it like it is for all time.

KERNELS

Kernels are the lowest part of a system's software. It controls memory related things as well as processor things. It manages the communication between the hardware and the software, and caution should be exercised.

Kernels are flashed the same way ROMs are.
Many developers will recommend or develop a kernel to go along with their ROM.
Custom kernels are often needed to do overclocking, or undervolting (for battery optimization), etc.
Also downloaded from XDA and such.
Make sure you do your research and that it's compatible with your phone!

RADIOS, WIMAX, AND OTHERS

Often time you can flash updated versions of your phone's radio and wimax. Download and flash these like you would a ROM.

My Top 25 Recommended Android Apps

2010-12-31T02:10:00.000-08:00

Here they are!
(NOTE: I totally left off two big ones. Titanium Backup and Tasker! See my other post coming soon explaining how to use titanium and tasker will come eventually). This is in no particular order, other than slightly alphabetical.

Alarm Clock Plus - This is a great alarm clock app. Highly customizable, effective, and can even be set to make you do math! You may regret the math part in the mornings though, it gets really annoying sometimes.
Angry Birds / Talking Tom - Two very addicting entertainment apps. Talking Tom is fun with your friends, Angry Birds is horribly addicting when you're bored.
Astro File Manager - A powerful yet simple file manager. You can install apk's from there as well, and much more.
Call Logs Backup and Restore (and the SMS version) - Simple but effective backup and restore for your call logs and texts. Stores them on your SD card for safe keeping if you have to wipe your phone.
Chrome to Phone - Excellent if you're on a site on your computer and want to continue reading on the go. Just install the corresponding Google Chrome extension, sync it to your Google account, and you're set to go! Just click the extension button on chrome.
Dial Zero - Ever dread having to call customer support for a company? Look up the company on DZ and it'll direct you to how to reach a live person.
Dolphin Browser Mini - Most Android users have heard of Dolphin Browser before. This new "mini" version is slick, and very quick and easy to use.
Dropbox - Singlehandedly became the best application for sharing your files between all your devices (iOS, Mac OS, PC, Android, etc) in 2010. You get 2 GB free, easy to use!
Zedge - A great app for downloading free ringtones and wallpapers, with hundreds of thousands to choose from.
GO SMS - My personal favorite app for texting. Faster than handscent, and (in my opinion) just as good.
iSyncr - A great app for iTunes and Mac users to sync your music without having to use a separate music app. Read the directions in the app, and soon enough you'll be using the built in music player for Android to play your iTunes music and playlists!
Mr. Number Caller ID - Possibly the creepiest app out there. Type in a phone number you don't recognize, and it looks up who's name is attached to it. It's frightening, and isn't just for landlines...
Mileage - This app is for tracking your car mileage and various other statistics. Easy interface, and statistics/graphs-a-plenty.
Multicon - This acts as a widget, allowing you to put 4 app icons in the space normally one would. See the YouTube vid for a better visual of what I mean.
Pandora - This is obvious, Pandora is awesome.
PDANet - For people who want internet on their computer from their phone. I'd normally recommend wifi tether, but you'll need this if you want to do the roundabout way of connecting your game system to your computer for internet. Just install the corresponding software for your computer, connect, and you're ready to go.
Phonalyzr - Interested in seeing stats about who you text and call the most? This tells you all that and more.
Autokiller - My preferred task manager. Requires ROOT access, works nicely in the background and for your battery.
SDMove - Running out of space on your internal memory? This app tells you which ones of your apps can be moved to the SD card, and even takes you to the application management for the respective app when you click on it!
Shazam - This app is awesome. When you hear a song that you don't know but want, just use Shazam. It takes a 30 second sample and spits out the artist, track, and more.
ShootMe - This runs in the background when you start it, and takes screenshots when you give your phone a shake.
Wifi Tether - Requires ROOT access. This is the go-to app for wifi tether on rooted phones. Install the latest version, and enjoy.
Webkey - This is a nifty little app, though someone lacking in terms of applications for it. You can remotely access your phone if webkey is turned on on your phone. Set up a password to login, and you can see a little screen of your phone's screen. Has great potential is the area of finding stolen phones or freaking out your friends when your phone types to itself "This is a message from GOD".
Titanium Backup - Simply the most powerful and effective way to back up your applications and restore them. I'll be posting a more in depth tutorial of it soon, as well as a video.
Tasker - A powerful automating app to control just about everything on your phone (very "if-this, do-that" sort of thing, but better). I'll be making a video tutorial and post about this as well.

How to Install Android 2.2 on the HTC HD2 (CoreDroid)

2010-12-30T20:37:00.001-08:00

This is one of the simplest ones to do. Make sure you have 1300MB of space on your SD card.
First you'll need the following two downloaded:

Coredroid: http://hotfile.com/dl/84254476/7d315ca/Core_Droid_EVO_V0.8_Desire_TMOUS.rar.html
Android Loader .cab: http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=467734&d=1292709332

After those have downloaded, unzip the Coredroid file.

Plug in your phone and set it to Disk Drive.
In the Coredroid folder that you unzipped, open it and in the next screen there's a folder simply called "Android". Click and drag the "Android" folder directly onto the root of the SD card of your phone (removable disk, NO NAME, depends on your OS). Root means that it's not in any other subfolders. You open your SD card, and the Android folder shows up on that first screen.
Do the same with the Loader cab.
Disconnect your phone, then press Start>File Manager>Storage Card. Scroll down to the loader (mskip_Android_Loader....), and select it.
Select install to device, then let it install, then select Yes for option on start up, Android (not the soft reset), and point to it to your android folder (see video above). Then you're done!
Turn off your phone, then restart it. On startup, it'll display giving you the choice between Android and Windows. Select Android.
At the CLRCAD and Haret prompts, click yes for both, then let it boot.
The first run can take upwards of 8-10 minutes. Just let it work and don't interrupt it. It's building a 1GB data.img file on your SD card.
After it's loaded, go through your usual setup (accounts, language, intro, etc), then you're set!

Data works, it's rooted (wifi tether yeah!), phone, SMS, you name it.

Enjoy!

How to Root the Verizon Samsung Fascinate

2010-12-28T23:19:00.000-08:00

Here we go. This one's a sinch, and takes maybe a few minutes. This doesn't install clockwordmod however. I'll be making a video hopefully soon, but for now I'll leave you with a link to xda.

You'll need the z4root.apk file. Download Here
Instructions for installing clockworkmod after (windows only at the moment): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=788099

NOTE: For this to work, you must uninstall ALL security and task killer apps (Lookout, ATK, etc). They will interfere with the process. You can reinstall them after.
Backup your data! Always do this, no matter how harmless whatever you're doing is.
Download ASTRO File Manager from the app market.
Enable USB debugging by going to Menu>settings>applications>development.
Enable apps from unknown sources by pressing the back button once after doing the stop above and selecting the checkbox at the top.
Plug in your phone to your computer and enable mass storage.
Drag and drop the z4root apk onto your SD card.
Eject your phone, then open astro and navigate to the file on the SD card.
Select the file, and click "Open App Settings" on the popup.
Select "Install" on the next screen and let it install.
After installation, open the z4root app in your app drawer, and press "Permanent Root". Should take about 2 minutes, then it will reboot and you'll have root. Enjoy!

If it hangs up (i.e. 5min of no change), it's safe to take the battery out. Look carefully and make sure you've removed all task killers and security apps, and try again.

New Unrevoked Coming Soon!

2010-12-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

Good news! Looks like the beta will be out, meaning the full version will probably be out in the next week I think.

How to Root the HTC Evo in 3 Minutes (without wiping data!)

2010-12-28T12:03:00.000-08:00

NOTE: Unrevoked is still working on their new version for Evos with HBOOT 2.02+, just sit tight.
To check, power off your phone, then power on again while holding down both the volume down and power buttons until a white screen with colored lettering shows up. Read the number at the top next to "HBOOT". If it's 2.02 or higher, then you have to wait.

Go to www.unrevoked.com and click on the Evo. Click the first link (unrevoked painless root and flash) and go about installing the right program for your operating system.
On your Evo, go to Settings>Applications>Development and check the box next to "USB Debugging".
Press the back button once (you should be in Applications again) and make sure "Unknown sources" is UNCHECKED.
Press the back button once more (should be back in settings) and select the "Connect to PC" link and change the default connection type to Disk Drive.
Run the unrevoked program on the computer (if you're on PC, right click and select "Run as administrator").
Plug in your phone. The program will prompt you saying they're not liable and blah blah, click ok.
Follow the onscreen instructions.

It will reboot into recovery, going to a white screen with colored lettering. The program will tell you to navigate (with the volume buttons) down to the "HBOOT" button and press the power button to select it.
Let it do its work. Enjoy the humorous lines it gives you ("This was a triumph", etc).
You'll come back to the white screen again and it will ask you to select the HBOOT again. Fear not! It didn't restart, it's just part of the process. If you reach it a 3rd time however, then you didn't read my NOTE above correctly.
Let it work again till finish. It will now flash the Clockworkmod Recovery image (you need this to flash zip files)

After it's done, you're rooted! You can unplug your phone and look in your app drawer to find the "Superuser" app.
Flash custom ROMs (see my video for Cyanogenmod), install Wifi-tethering, install overclocking, whatever your heart desires.

Enjoy!

How to Install Cyanogenmod onto the Evo!

2010-12-28T02:32:00.000-08:00

Plain and simple folks!

Download the following files (do NOT unzip them!):

Root your phone (see my other video).
Back up your data using Titanium Backup (found in the app market, how to video coming soon)
Back up your contacts (People>menu>export to SD)
Connect your phone as a USB device and transfer the files over to the ROOT (not in any other folders) of the SD card.
Turn off the phone, and restart in recovery mode by holding down the power and volume DOWN buttons at the same time until it comes up with a white screen with some colored lettering.
Using the volume down button, scroll down and select "recovery" by pressing the power button.
In recovery, scroll down and select "wipe data". This will wipe your phone only, not your SD card.
After that, scroll down and select "wipe cache".
After, select "install zip from SD", and scroll down and select and install the Cyanogenmod .zip file you put on the SD card.
After it's done, do the same with the GAPPS .zip file.
Repeat once more with the Radio.
Reboot your phone.
Sometimes it may get stuck at the boot. If this happens. take out the battery, put it back in and repeat steps 6-13.
Resync your phone with your google account and restore apps (Titanium) and contacts (same thing, just select "import" instead).

Enjoy Cyanogenmod!