[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] spareme:
Quest for knowledge

Hi everyone,

good morning / evening / afternoon / whatever your little piece of the planet.

This is obviously my first post and I come bearing nothing more than 1000 questions. I have spent a good part of the last 3 days reading 1000 different threads in an effort to understand where I am here and what I am about to let myself in for. The information here is boundless, but needless to say, unless you know what you're talking about, doing already, it's somewhat (is for me anyway) scattered about in different threads. My head hurts trying to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

However, I have noted a lot of Aust. flags in profiles, so presumably I'm not Robinson Crusoe here.

So, I would be grateful, if (whilst being gentle) you could answer a number of questions for me please to confirm my understanding so far.

1. As I understand it, the kernels, firmwares, codes, etc. all run sequentially with numerals preceeding letters of the alphabet. Yes?

i.e. XXKE6 is later than XWKE7

2. The best and safest way to undergo rooting is on an MS box using the MS-based tools. Yes?

I have found "Heimdall" ?? by "Ben Dobell" ??, but it's SGS II support seems to still be developing.

3. The way to undergo a root-ing is to root to a given CF kernel, then effectively re-install your original kernel (to keep close to stock). To reset the triangle, there is a s'ware method or you can simply plug in a USB jig which wil do this resetting for you. Yes?

4. This rooting will install all you need, including ADB. Yes?

5. Before rooting, I should download and install ODIN 1.85?? And before installing ODIN, I should install KIES version??? Yes?

6. Before ODIN-ing my phone, I should ensure all 'drivers' are updated with KIES. Yes?

7. Before doing any of this, I should buy and get delivered a USB jig. Yes?

8. The PDA file/code is the physical Android kernel. Is this correct?

If this is the kernel, why does my phone also display a much longer kernel version string (ending in "root@DELL101 #2")?

9. The PHONE (or modem) is the actual firmware for the actual phone chipset. I.e. This is what actually runs the phone functionality. Yes?

10. Is the firmware from Q.9 the "ROM" you would flash when moving to Lite'ning or Villian? If not, which is it?

11. The CSC (Country Specific Codes) is the applications, etc (effectively user space binaries) which make up the extras, i.e. the smartphone functionality. Yes?

12. So what significance or relation to PDA, PHONE & CSC do the "Baseband Version", "Kernel Version" and "Build Number" in the "About Phone" screen have?

Baseband == PHONE??

Build Nr == PDA?? .... No. That's kernel isn't it?

So which is Kernel Version and Build Nr (GINGERBREAD.XWKEB")?

13. What does the "Service Mode" menu achieve for me?

14. If I am going to 'root' the phone, I need Chainfire to build me a 'root-ed' version of my standard kernel??? No........ I root the phone with CF's kernel, but then need to replace my original kernel with a copy thereof. Yes?

15.Go back to post #574 here; http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=14763476&postcount=574 , read everything capaxdoli says including the pages he references and generally speaking I should be good to go. Yes?

Which brings me to the 2nd final question. Of all the kernel files, etc I've seen, none seem to be correct for me living in Aust. This is a very int'l forum and going by the codes I've noted for Aust., I'm yet to see a kernel file listed for the firmware my phone runs. So where do I find that?

*#1234# gives me:

PDA:	I9100XWKEB

PHONE:	I9100XXKE6

CSC:	I9100XSAKE3

Build Info:	Fri May 27 11:11:27 KST 2011

Which of these codes do I really need to be worried about w/r to just rooting v's ROM-ing? What's the difference between those two?

I truly appreciate your time and effort in advance to answer my quandries.

Really lastly. It appears to me, from reading, that the versions of the software I have installed have actually had a lot of the necessary fixes implemented for which any myraid of small apps have in the past, been developed and become popular. Things like Juice Defender and Tasker, etc.

It seems to me this version I have has a lot of settings which would appear to relate to the tasks for which those apps were originally developed, rendering them, and possibly the need to 'root', unnecessary.

Is this possible?