[Motorola Droid Bionic] _base2:
First, the bootloader doesn't need to he unlocked to flash a custom ROM. All a locked BL means is that you can't flash custom kernels.

Since you're rooted already the process is pretty simple. Download the Bionic Bootstrapper app from the market or you can grab it on Koush's website as well. I recommend buying it from the market - its only $2 and it supports a great team of devs. You also need a backup program such as Titanium Backup. I like it the best and the Pro version is ABSOLUTELY worth a few bucks.

So download the ROM (zip) you wanna flash and put it on your sdcard.

First things first, make your backups. Start with Titanium Backup (abbreviated as TiBu a lot). Backup your apps by going to Menu > Batch > Backup all user apps. This will backup your user apps, those in /data. Not system apps.

Then open up the bionic bootstrapper app -- press "Bootstrap Recovery" and allow su permissions. Then once it says "success" you can boot into a FALSE recovery by clicking "Boot in Recovery".

This will bring you to clockwork mod recovery. Now make a full nandroid backup ... backup /restore > backup.

It will take a while. The bionic "system" is fairly large. I (as a precaution) reboot into android and let my battery recharge to 100% before continuing.

Once recharged, I boot back into CWM (clockwork mod recovery) via bootstrapper, then flash the zip in recovery. First you need to wipe your phone first, otherwise you will probably soft brick. Not fun. Just select "wipe data / factory reset" then select "wipe cache". Then go to advanced and select "wipe dalvik cache".

Once you've wiped dalvik, you can go ahead and flash. Just go to "install zip from sdcard" then "choose zip from sdcard". Important to note that there are TWO storage places on the bionic, so make sure you select the right one. If you don't see the ROM/zip you downloaded, select "choose zip from internal storage" and it should be there.

Then select the zip and let it do its stuff. If done properly, your phone will reboot. The reboot will take a while, so don't worry. It has to rebuild the dalvik cache for the new system. It will vibrate about halfway through the boot process. Then you will be right back at the initial android screen, but in your new ROM. Just sign into your Google account, download TiBu from the market and select "Restore all User Apps" from the batch menu and you're pretty much done.

*** A few IMPORTANT notes, however!! This is a RISKY procedure. The Bionic has a locked bootloader, which while it doesn't hinder you from flashing a custom ROM or overclocking, it does mean that your recovery options are somewhat slightly limited. So-called "soft bricks" are very easy to do with the new Moto devices. You should do your research on how to recover a brick using Fastboot and an FXZ file. I would not even begin to screw around in recovery in a phone like this until you know how to recover an unbootable / bootlooped device.***

If that helps, pls hit the little thanks button :)

[ sent from _base2 ]

---------- Post added 27th November 2011 at 12:26 AM ---------- Previous post was 26th November 2011 at 11:56 PM ----------

It was pretty much covered already... but... just to back up a little bit... ROM stands for Read Only Memory ... it's the part of your phone that you're not really SUPPOSED to edit / change. but developers and smart people ( :) ) do it anyway because we can alter the way that the phone behaves on the OS-level. For instance, I run Liberty by Kejar, Jrummy and syaoran... it adds a HUGE amount of functionality to my device that otherwise I would not have. It allows me to pick and choose parts from AOSP (vanilla android) and parts from Blur (Motorola's skin/ROM).

I like the increase flexibility, customizability, speed and battery life it offers. Most ROMs also have tools associated with them that allow easy customization for users that aren't as advanced as others.

That's, in a nutshell, what ROMs "do" .... make sense? :)