[Transformer TF300T General] ralph075:
First of all, I like to share I am not a stranger with rooting, flashing, granting bootloader access (not an tablets, but on HTC an SE WM phones in the past (assuming the S-off/S-on switching is somewhat comparable)). Despite not being a stranger, I am no whizzkid either, it's just that I am able to read instructions well, re-read them and carefully follow the instructions step by step. During the process I have reasonable understanding of what I am doing, but I am not someone that could have 'invented' such workflows and adjustments myself.

So, what is new for me? Installing a custom recovery. I haven't done that before. No problem, because I know there are enough techs on XDA that have the great quality to share their knowledge, something I appreciate very much and use regularly.

My story:

Asus created a situation in which you have to register your device and actively decline your warranty, whenever you want to unlock the bootloader. This is why I didn't do that yet. Now, having my TF300 for almost 6 months, reasonably comfortable with the feeling there will be no issues to need the warranty, I am willing to unlock my bootloader and void my warranty. However, shortly after the JB OTA I read a lot of messages that this was not possible with a TF300 on JB. Later I read it might be possible, but that changing the bootloader was not possible. Then I read this was possible too, but you could only install roms based on official Asus JB OTA.

Well... I guess things have evolved since the initial JB OTA, but I am not sure that I understood things well enough to just give it a try (yet). So I am looking for confirmation and a bit more in depth info. First I will summarize my TF300's history in detail and things I found so far regarding custom recovery. In this way you know what the situation is and I also hope this post becomes 'informative' for other TF300 owners too, besides being a question topic for me only.

Ok, what do I have:

- An original TF300T (no dock), bought in June 2012 with stock ICS

- Granted myself root access via 1-Click Transformer Root

- All original Asus OTA's applied, including the upgrade to JB (and succeeding OTA's)

- Still have root (kept root during all OTA's, including upgrade to JB with help from Voodoo OTA rootkeeper)

- Recently wiped/factory reset my device (still have root)

What I used in the past, but currently not running on the tablet:

- Used different Custom build.props on ICS and JB, but now have stock build.prop again

- Used SwitchMe profile manager (still want it, but waiting on decision to possibly unlock/install custom recovery first)

- Used browser2ram (don't want to need it anymore, but ability to boost performance with a custom rom will be a requirement)

What custom recovery options did I see? There are 3 of them and all seem to be safe with the TF300 JB OTA:

- TWRP 2.3.1.0

- CWM 6.0.1.3 / 5.5.0.4 (don't know why it has 2 version numbers... ICS and JB version?)

- Clockworkmod 6.0.1.4 Touch (same as CWM 6.0.1.3 but with touch functionality?)

Ok, what do I want confirmed to be sure enough to give it a shot on my TF300 without bricking?

- Is it possible to use official Asus unlock tool on a stock OTA JB TF300? If possible:

- Are above mentioned custom recovery options indeed safe to run on a (unlocked) stock OTA JB TF300? If safe:

- What is (technical) the best custom recovery option? Or are the mentioned options mostly identical and is it a matter of personal preference?

- Can I run any roms after installing a custom recovery or am I restricted to roms based on official Asus JB?

- What will happen with root access after (if possible) installing a custom recovery? And after installing a custom rom?

These are my major 'need to knows' before I dare....

Besides this information, I am curious if someone can confirm my representation of (or explain) the different parts in Android/Asus installation and how it is affected by a custom recovery. During reading along the forums, I have created this visualization of the different parts of the system:

1. Bootloader or kernel (first thing on system, somewhat comparable with a PC BIOS? Are the terms bootloader and kernel interchangeable?)

2. Asus recovery/boot options or custom recovery (custom recovery replace the standard Asus recovery/boot options, I assume)

3. Android (stock JB/ICS or custom rom)

Is this a correct representation?

Well, that was all... Hopefully my post didn't become a TLDR and some of you are willing to help me out. I am very thankful in advance!