yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Xoom General] alodar1:
I really don't think thats the reason. As a first time rooter, and/or a noob, these forums are intimidating. There are good people with good information here. There are also alot of A-holes whose purpose in life is to disrupt.

No one should root without research. Duh. But alot of people do. When they don't research, the horror stories arise.

I've always been with Windows Phone flashing, so the noob edge was not there. I knew enough to research and thats where the problems come in.

No 2 guides are alike.

Most guides 'assume' a working knowledge of something

Most do not include all the steps

Many contain misspellings

Many are out of order

Many do not contain any information on what it is you are doing..

You provided me a decent guide. But even it contained missing steps or explanations. Explanations in places where it was not obvious about what to do next.

Anyone researching Rooting, will read the horror stories. That should cause them to go back and read more. When the research shows multiple ways to do the same thing....there are questions.

The very first time you rooted, you had questions. So do everyone else. Want to be real helpful, compile one of those step by steps for noobs. Check and triple check it to make sure its accurate and complete. Have a noob check it out for you to see if it can be followed. Get a mod to post in a start here spot. Look at this forum, is there a place where noobs can go?? or do they have to search for info on rooting and everything. Look at the helpful tabs at the top of this forum....I did, I decided I'd rather not root....until you came along and pointed me to a good guide.

remember also, familiarity breeds carelessness. You may be familiar with what you speak. But would someone off the street know what you were talking about....in short, thing of comfort level for the beginner. ADB fastboot recovery, are strange terms to anyone who has never used them before. I used them enough to know where I can safely stop in case I was not sure. Believe me, yesterday when I rooted my Xoom, I did and redid several steps to insure I was comfortable with what I was doing, before I unlocked, or flashed.

Anyway, consider a consolidated step by step posted as a sticky or part of a Noobs start here guide. XDA used to have those things, now....not so much.
[Xoom General] albundy2010:
People just don't read and or stupid or both.

Example is the nexus one. There is a wiki that has everything. There a threads that have covered everything. Folks just don't read the info or search at all. Most of the time I just flat out tell people read the wiki. Nothing else needs to be said .
[Xoom General] okantomi:
Someone recently asked why there's no Xoom wiki. I really think there should be, with every tested and confirmed guide to rooting and flashing, all the stock images, all of the still in use ROMs and kernels, mods, recoveries, info about hardware and software compatibility/conflicts and facts about the Xoom, the different builds, the language packs, sticky tips and tricks....in some forums they say if it's in the wiki, don't bother asking...maybe that's a bit harsh, but it would eliminate 200 threads about sd cards in one week's time.

Someone needs to do this. I'd do it if I didn't have anything else to do...as it is I'm stealing time from what I'm supposed to be doing, lol.
[Xoom General] Theme Ishere:
I am still astonished by the arrogance of some people in this thread. Claiming it is easy to root for everyone is just short sighted: There are dangers in doing so and there are disadvantages in terms of guarantee.

I love Android, and I changed ROMs on my ZTE Blade more often than I can remember to enhance it, but that was a £80 product. If it breaks...I will be annoyed and angry with mysel...and buy a new one. That is different with a high end device like the Xoom. Furthermore, I can see why people are complaining: It took Motorola (or Google...doesn't matter for the masses) five month to get the SD card to work...barely. Read only still is a big letdown. If I HAVE to root my device to get a function I assumed (and was made to assume) to be available pretty quickly on stock, than the device or manufacturer or software developer failed.

I for one will not buy another Motorola product anytime soon. Not because I am unhappy with the product in General (I have the Wifi version and do not use a SD card at the moment), but because I think how Motorola dealt with this matter (4G and SD Card) was more than disappointing. If you don't want to communicate with your customers. Fine. But do not complain if the sales figures and market share are dropping.
[Xoom General] alodar1:
No, they aren't arrogant. Remember the origin of these forums, developer based, for developers. People used to come here to developed, flash/root, and share. Its fun. I don't come here to solve a problem, I come here to experience a new world with my device. To do that you unlock and root.

If that is not for you, then this place is not for you. Support for Xoom and its shortcomings is done by Motorola. People here can't and will not fix that. But if you are willing to try something different, stick around...and root.

That's the bottom line man. Been here over 4yrs. Root is not required to read, only to partake. Calling people arrogant when they have no answer for your problem unless they root, is not cool. Ask Motorola how to fix the problem, then call them arrogant. :-) :-)
[Xoom General] IceCreaMan:
that didnt come out until later, all we had at the time (June) was the engineering boot image, unrevoked and one other method...
[Xoom General] Kippui:
Nvidia made tegra 2 devices EXTREMELY difficult to brick. I was a bit scared at first rooting a $600 device but I came to the logic that if I make my xoom unrepairable then I can always buy a motorola factory cable to fix it NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS TO IT.

If you unlock the bootloader then you shouldn't NEVER have to relock it.

The only perma bricks I see are the ones where people lock the xoom without being complete stock. Even if you make your xoom unrepairable then there is a $50 dollar motorola factory cable you can buy to fix it up.

Even when I say perma bricks I mean the " You can only fix it if you buy the motorola factory cable" brick. I don't think its possible to even perma brick so maybe I should call it a softbrick lol.
[Xoom General] playya:
Well said its not arrogant to feel the way I do... Rooting is not that difficult to me and also I have followed the guides to the letter without incident. You have to read the guides and read the posts people. If someone comes across an issue they post it tell the OP and changes to the method are made. Hey being a noob is not an excuse for just not reading and following directions I see too many people hide behind that.

There were about 35 steps in rooting the Evo when it came out and I read the threads for a week before I got into it... Take your time and handle ya business.
[Xoom General] albundy2010:
There really are no dangers in unlocking/rooting the device itself. None.

The danger is a noob with su privileges and relockable bootloader.

Which is why I believe if you are not capable of I stalling the sdk/unlocking etc you have no business rooting period. The one click type roots are needed for devices with a locked bootlader /s on etc.

Fastboot OEM unlock. No danger.

Flashing a boot.I mg. No danger.

Pushing stuff via adb. No danger.

If something goes wrong. Flash back stock official imgs from motor dev.

Relocking bootloader is not dangerous. Just don't be idiot and relock it period. Or if you do relock put official motor dev imgs on.

All of the other so called dangers are really just this. Clueless people with su & fastboot OEM lock. Basically every real issue has been one of two things. People relocking the bootloader. People tried to format SD card with cwm which ended up formatting the internal nand.
[Xoom General] Kippui:
Even if you do the above fixable by buying/making a factory cable.

Someone correct me if the factory cable can fix the internal sd reformat brick though but then again that is irrelevant since the new cwm blocks you from doing it
[Xoom General] alodar1:
OK, can't figure this out. How can I see the external sdcard?

Loaded root explorer, but can't see the card. Went to sdcard, but there is no /external, like in the instructions
[Xoom General] Theme Ishere:
I know the origin of this community, but that doesn't change the fact that it not only consist of developers and experts. People come here to talk about apps in the apps section, about accessories in the accessories section and about general stuff in the, surprise, general section as well. And general stuff includes talking about the dissatisfaction with a device, whether there is a reason for it or not. The only reason I do not unlock my device is cause I am happy with it, and I just cannot be bothered to do so. But many people do not want to make severe changes to their device, and I can understand that. I understand as well that more experienced people here get fighty, as they don't see the problem of it all, as they chose to unlock there device. Nevertheless, they should accept that others do not want to do so, and are not here to become experts but to talk about the device, apps and general Q&A. And if I was in need for a SD Card (of which i can actually WRITE stuff!) or still had to wait for 4G...I would complain as well that the device does not fulfill the expectations I was led to develop according to advertisements and spongy statements.
[Xoom General] okantomi:
Don't forget trying to flash a zip through adb...caused a few hang ups out there. I actually already bought my factory cable just in case so now I'm almost fearless.
[Xoom General] okantomi:
In HC3.2 it's at mnt/external1.
[Xoom General] Gorgonesh:
I have been extremely happy with the stock Honeycomb experience. I bought my refurbed Xoom WiFi after 3.1 was released and the overall experience has been great for me. No need for overclocking, undervoltage, etc. I have no reason in my current use of the Xoom to want to root. The only thing I might have rooted for was for SD card support but as it sits I still have more than 7GB free with a number of movies and music on it.

Now that 3.2 has dropped the performance has improved, the UI is super smooth and I couldn't be happier for my needs of light browsing, email, movies, etc. If I need space I would just move all my media on to a huge SD card and clean up the 32GB partition on the device.

I would be more open to custom ROMs when the ICS drops and the devs actually get some source code to work with.
[Xoom General] alodar1:
only rooted 3.1. In the instructions it says the SD card is located at /sdcard/external. There is no /external.....under SDCARD or MNT either.

Booted into recovery and sees the external card, but when doing nandroid....it also does not recognize the external card and does not appear to save the backup.
[Xoom General] alodar1:
found a fix. Post #550 on that thread offers a fix that works...
[Xoom General] playya:
Ok glad you found something but also try the app at this site http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1068999 it worked great when I was running 3.1 to access my storage card
[Xoom General] ghodzilla5150:
My Xoom works great Stock (3. 2) now that we have Netflix. There are no ROM's that interest me like my EVO (running Myn's Warm 2.2 RLS5) . I just see no reason to Root. I am not a Flash Noob either. I Flashed my Nook Color using ADB Alot. Had it running Froyo & Honeycomb without removing the SD Cards.
[Xoom General] playya:
Not if anyone is interested but some of the features in the Asus can be put on your Xoom. I am running there Water background its nice as well as the weather widget. As well as a host of other apk's for me to choose from which works if you are running the deoxed 3.2 rom. Just a lil perk of rooted Xoom. Honestly I was happy too with my stock Xoom but rooting did not change anything I was still happy but now I knew if I did feel like tinkering with it I could and return right back to happiness
[Xoom General] RadDudeTommy:
Despite what you may have said about just wanting debate, the tone in the op tells a different story. I feel attacked because I don't want to root. Am I scared? Maybe, but who are you to tell me that I am. Do I feel I shouldn't have too? Certainly. Spending 800 on this device I feel I should not have to root to get the ability to write to an SD card from the xoom itself. I promise that's probably the only reason I would root. Either way, who wants to have to root and unroot every time an update comes thru? Or wait for a dev to post a way to update while remaining rooted, which for the unsavy like me will have to follow more directions that I could potentially mess up? And even further, if i want to come to the general section and complain that I can't write to SD from my xoom, who are you to stop me? That's what the general section is for. Look at this thread, the original op is nothing but you complaining about these people complaining, and attacking them (but cleverally calling it an Epiphany). There wasn't much room for debate with the op. You tell us we are afraid, and said if we weren't then we would just do it and move on with our lives. Where is the room for debate in that besides debating how much of a prick you are for making blind statements? People here have shown you reasons not to root, that have nothing to do with fear, so maybe you should go back and edit the op because even if i am afraid, you can suck it for thinking you're above me for having a rooted Xoom.

Also, people will complain, that's fine, they paid a lot of money on their Xoom, and everything that was promised hasn't been delivered. Its people that make threads to complain about people that complain that really gets me. And despite your oh I just wanted a debate statement, your op paints a completely different story
[Xoom General] e.mote:
>Despite what you may have said about just wanting debate, the tone in the op tells a different story. I feel attacked because I don't want to root.

Relax, the OP is just inarticulate. He wants to understand why people aren't as geeked as he is, and the simple answer is that not everybody is a geek. Indeed, the vast majority of people aren't geeks.

That's the problem with Android adoption today. Once it steps out from the confines of smartphones to be a general-purpose OS, then you have to be a geek to get it to do the things that users take for granted with mainstream OS'es. PC users don't need to "root" to get full use out of their PCs.

In a nutshell, Android isn't yet ready as a general-purpose OS (neither is iOS, but its aim is more circumscribed). It's one reason why Android tablets aren't selling well. If they were, Staples wouldn't be lopping $50 and $100 off their prices.

The other reason is that Android tabs are overpriced. Median price quickly dropped from the iPad benchmark of $500 to $400, to now around $350, taking into account the discounts. It will drop further still.
[Xoom General] okantomi:
I think you know better...clearly the OP was expressing how tired he was getting with the demanding and whining (I have a 14 yr old--I know all about whining) for features that are beyond the scope of the stock OS. He was suggesting that these features (at least most) are available by rooting and installing one of the custom kernels or roms developed for the Xoom. A wonderful new rom is available now from Team Tiamat and it runs wonderfully...so smooth and everything (SD card, usbOTG) works perfectly.

Thank you for calling me a geek. I am at best an amateur geek, who cut my geek teeth on DOS basic, oh those 25 years ago. Some of us GEEKS enjoy having optimized functionality of a wonderful tablet, which by your own admission, you do not own. I'm not sure why you troll and patrol here, this Xoom forum, dropping your choice bon mots, but maybe you are just bored, and in in need of a little entertainment at our expense.

Well then, enjoy!

;)
[Xoom General] e.mote:
Actually, I was being polite about the OP's tone. It's as the previous poster said--juvenile and inflamatory, calling others "big babies" and "being afraid." Others have expressed the same, and no need for me to dwell on it. I well understand that as geeks go, communication isn't a prized skill, and some perceived slights are to be tolerated, as is in your case.

>Thank you for calling me a geek.

You're welcome. I'd further recommend that you become less of a thin-skinned geek. The term isn't pejorative. I'm one.

>I'm not sure why you troll and patrol here,

I participate because I chose to, as with you.
[Xoom General] tritran18518:
I bought my xoom three months ago. Yesterday, i decided to root and installed tiamat v2.0 room cause i feel my xoom is laggy, slow... And i have to say that my xoom is running much smoother after i root/installed custom room. (FYI, this is not my first time to root a device. i used to had HD2 running android/window 7 - rooted :dell streak 5/ motorola defy/ galasy s/ mytouch 4g...) So my advice is, if you are satisfied with your xoom, keep it. But if there is a time you feel your xoom doesn't run smooth, root it.
[Xoom General] okantomi:
Great advice. We have the option to leave it stock or root and customize.
[Xoom General] donniesd:
I see no reason to root. No cool roms, apps, features.
[Xoom General] JayBat:
There's still no compelling reason for me to wipe all my saved file. 3g version early adopter here so I have more data to lose than most. Lesson learned. Waited for thunderbolt to get rooted before buying it.

Sent from me, using this app on this thing.
[Xoom General] playya:
I would assume that means you have backed it up somewhere since you don't want to lose your data. MyBackup / Titanium Backup / AndroidCommander? All tools that can be used once you root and helps you to get your Tablet backup in running in no time. A good lesson that most have learned and I have taken a page from is backup your sd card to your pc. With all these backups done properly a root and restore is lets say 15 minutes top...

Just looking at it from the other side -
[Xoom General] playya:
Yo could be right but if you are not rooted and can't try the roms, apps or features to say if they are better or worse then I don't believe your statement is completely true... IMO

Not saying too root just saying can't compare something if you only dealt with one side of it...
[Xoom General] playya:
Just like to take one line out of your post "PC users don't need to "root" to get full use out of their PCs." - No they don't but what they do have to do is pay more money for more features hence why there are multiple versions of windows.

Root it try things out then unroot if you so please. If you are worried about bricking your device I agree stay far away from rooting. Just don't make up excuses about I don't want to because of this or that....
[Xoom General] edengberg:
Do you still beat your wife...

The title of my post is the same type of question the OP used to start this thread. I am not afraid to root (I have been building PCs for over 20 years). If you follow the threads on the problems in this and other Xoom forums, most all are due to rooting or installing flaky apps. I am very happy with my non-rooted Xoom.
[Xoom General] playya:
Also a lot of people are unhappy with the way it is stock and guess what they do...root it... Now some of those people had no business rooting because they cant follow directions nor can they comprehend what needs to be done. Guess where they end up, you guessed it in the forums with their problems that 98% of root community does not have.

My point - How do you know you don't like it unless you try it.... Don't knock what you have no clue about and especially if all you can do is speculate. Root your Xoom say it sucks more now rooted and go back before being negative. Those that have rooted can see both sides....I for one like my options rooted. Also this is Android most apps work with out being rooted only some system apps need root and those are not normally the flaky ones
[Xoom General] edengberg:
For now this is a free country and you and every other owner of a Xoom has the right to root or not. To say I have no clue about what rooting provides shows your false attitude of technical superiority. I do not need to jump off a cliff to know I do not want to do it. I do know what rooting would and would not do and choose that what it would do for me adds nothing to my use and enjoyment of the Xoom.
[Xoom General] donniesd:
I agree with you. I have rooted Atrix and Inspire. But i dont see any roms for the xoom that do anything or offer anything then what i have now. As JayBat, says. If i see something where i want to spend a few hours backing and setting everything up. I am game.
[Xoom General] playya:
First line - You are correct and I mentioned that...

Second line - Rooting as it pertains to the Motorola Xoom, have you rooted your Xoom and then decided it was not for you. If not then you do not have any clue. All you know is what you read or hear.. First hand experience is the best...

Third line - Cliff jumping is cool for some people who knows you may like it...My friend there are quite a few analogies I can use the other way as well... Its ok though I am not mad at your decision just saying you have no leg to stand on unless you have tried it in this case...

So if they offered you a faster Xoom, better SD Support, longer battery life, customization with battery pct., quicker boot times, faster page loading, etc etc, etc... you would not take it?

No roms you have a point but how many choices do you need if you find one that does everything you need and more...Oh yea and its minutes backing it up.. If you take hours you doing something wrong my friend..

Devils Advocate guys.....lol
[Xoom General] okantomi:
Look, the positive aspect of this discussion is the the Xoom offers a great Android Honeycomb experience right out of the box. That's a win. I will say, again, that having experienced plain vanilla stock 3.01, 3.1 and 3.2, I much prefer being able to install custom kernels and roms, and change my fonts and use the boot animation of my choice and have root tools that allow me to customize and care for my Xoom way beyond what I can do with stock. Also, scrolling is so much faster and smoother, the system is faster, I have full sdcard and OTG r/w capabilities, etc... Plus, I've got back up through ClockworkMod and Titanium Backup, so no matter what happens, I can recover my exact set-up and all my apps and data and that's made me much more confident with trying out different things. A total win all around.

So root or don't root- it's all good.
[Xoom General] playya:
Well said
[Xoom General] donniesd:
If you say so. But i have 25GB worth of Blueray MP4 rips. And The xoom is not that fast in transferring back and forth.
[Xoom General] playya:
Ok not like after rooting you could just put the cable on and transfer it at night while sleeping but I get it....

Its ok not trying to convince you like I said just looking at it from the other side.

"Liv Ya Life" - We can agree to disagree....
[Xoom General] bossjeeves:
here is what I do, use my backup pro, it is amazing, all you have to do is save all of your apks and apk data, and also the android home setting, then after a full wipe, load, and then restore your apks and apk data, then restore your android home. all you have to do is re-setup your widgets, and DONE! piece of cake.

I really dont know why everyone suggests Titanium backup when i feel like mybackup pro is so much nicer, you dont have to manually hit install on ever app that you restore and it also seems to run a lot nicer too.
[Xoom General] tritran18518:
buy a titanium premium , so you don't need to click on each app that you restore.
[Xoom General] playya:
I agree MyBackup Pro is better IMO just that more people talk about Titanium so they think its better but we do have choices which is great.