gdgt

I risked it and did the 800Mhz overclock. Huge noticeable difference in the speed of everything. From the very get go, the boot animation runs faster, almost like a video on fastforward. Boot time didn't really seem all that much slower to me, but everything just feels much snappier. Browser, Google Goggles, Camera, Gallery...all of these work faster. Scrolling is smooth like butter. Not that it wasn't before, but it's just even smoother now.

GPS is noticeably and wonderfully faster. While I love the GPS, it can make you wait sometimes while it figures things out. This is not the case anymore, it's much faster.

I don't think I have the balls or need to go any higher than 800Mhz. I am quite happy with the performance gains I'm getting. Lets see what this does to battery life. My battery life on the Droid already is pretty crappy (expected). If I'm doing a bunch of stuff on the phone and browsing the web and such, I pull the phone off of full charge at 7:30AM and it will last till about 5PM.

I keep chargers everywhere, car, home, with me at school and I just try and keep my phone plugged in wherever I can so if I'm on the go It will have maximum battery juice.

One big warning....this did break my Wifi. There is a fix though but just be forewarned.

I followed these instructions here ( Installation via a Nandroid Backup ) -
http://alldroid.org/viewtopic.php?f=312&t=1637

You have to download one evilboot files. I download evilboot8-nand.zip.
Then you copy that file to your phone in the Nandroid folder. Then follow the instructions below.

To install the nandroid boot backups above:
Reboot phone into recovery console (this CANNOT be done using a terminal emulator while running)
If you don't have a recovery .992b or newer, there is lots of good info on AllDroid starting here: http://alldroid.org/viewtopic.php?f=210&t=837.
Use the 'backup/restore' menu and then 'Advanced Nandroid restore'
Select 'Choose backup'
Choose the nandroid backup you want to restore.
Clear the selections from all backup sections EXCEPT BOOT (only 'restore BOOT' should have a * by it)
Select 'Perform restore'
Reboot and enjoy. If your WiFi isn't working, look for more directions below on how to correct that.

The Wifi fix is also found on the same forum topic:
http://alldroid.org/viewtopic.php?f=312&t=1637

You have to download a file "tiwlan_drv.ko"

and then do the following:

Code:
mount -o remount,rw /system
cp /sytem/lib/modules/tiwlan_drv.ko tiwlan_drv.ko.bak
cat /sdcard/tiwlan_drv.ko > /system/lib/modules/tiwlan_drv.ko
chmod 644 /system/lib/modules/tiwlan_drv.ko
Mount -o remount,ro /system

Oh and overclocking can open the door to bad things so be wise and do so at your own risk. It's been reported that the Droid runs very stable at 800Mhz and even at 1Ghz. That doesn't mean your not slowly frying your phone because of increased heat that the phone may not be able to dissipate efficiently.

Good to know your experience is going well with overclocking. I am still a bit hesitant to dive in because, whether or not it is stable, it will most definitely reduce the lifespan of the phone just due to the increase in heat output from the processor, and I need this thing to last.

I was wondering if you could do the community a favor and download the BatteryLife widget and let us know what kind of temperatures you are getting at 800mhz. Idling mine is at around 85 degrees, but can get past 100 if I have been charging or running more intensive apps for a while (thats fahrenheit obviously, 29 and 37 celsius respectively). Also if you are willing to give us some updates on changes in battery life it would be greatly appreciated. I feel like my battery life is already pretty weak, but like you I do have chargers just about everywhere.

By the way, thanks for the info and links to good instructions, I am sure they will be extremely helpful should I decide to take the plunge and try this out.

I installed the Battery Life widget. Mine shows as 89.6 F. There are numerous factors that would cause this to be slightly different so keep that in mind.

I'm looking forward to running my Droid for an entire day to get impressions on battery life.

I'm also using the Sholes Team ROM version 1.2 which is just great. Anyone interested a quality ROM can look it up here: http://alldroid.org/viewtopic.php?f=263&t=1168

I previously had a 2.1 Rom but switched to the Sholes Team Rom as they really have got their crap together and I've really enjoyed all the improvements in speed and all of the 2.1 core apps ported over to 2.0. Also Multi-Touch browser works so well in this Rom.

After a weeks worth of using my phone....it's all butter! I love it with overclock. My battery life is probably a bit worse than before but to me that's not really an issue as I purchased a bunch of USB cables from monoprice.com and keep them everywhere. My car, My bookbag, my apt, my friends houses! Anywhere I frequent I have a USB cable at the ready to keep my phone plugged in and charged as often as possible.

I find that this way when I do have to be away from power for a while, I'm prepared with a fully charged battery and can enjoy most of the day even with heavy use of my phone.

this is a helpful thread. Deitiphobia, thanks for your info and followup. I've been pretty happy leaving my DROID stock, but I'm going to take a backup this week... If I don't like Moto's update, I'm going the overclock/sholes route.

Now that the official 2.1 release is going to happen this week, I would suggest getting the official update and then wait like a week or two for the devs to properly cook the 2.1 Rom. I'm sure that sholes team will have a 2.1 Rom out in short order.

There are a few really good reasons why its still worth it to root the phone even after the 2.1 update.

1. Overclock - I have had my Droid overclocked for a few weeks now. I first started at 800 Mhz, then 950, and now I'm at 1Ghz! My Droid runs at normal temperatures and I don't have any problems with overheating due to overclock.

Performance is dramatically improved and everything runs so smoothly. Also overclock gives you the ability to use the SetCPU app which allows you to set overclock / underclock profiles. Foe example I have my droid set to run at 125-550Mhz while in sleep mode, but while awake it runs at 125mhz to 1Ghz.

2. Wireless tether - this turns your phone into a Wifi access point that any device with Wifi can connect to for internet access. I had two laptops connected to my droid via Wifi at the same time both accessing the internet! One was a Mac; one was a PC

3. These Roms are modified for peak performance. I don't know how or what they do but they optimize files and images so that everything runs a bit faster and smoother. This is the case even if you decide not to overclock.

Cooked Roms also come with unneeded applications removed by default. But you do have the option to keep them if you like, apps like Corporate email, Amazon MP3 store, visual voice mail...etc.

4. Customization themes - Many mods will often have a customized and optimized theme applied as well that usually looks pretty slick and is an improvement over the stock.

5. You get first dibs on any android updates to any other phone out there! For example, all of the key new features from the Nexus with Android 2.1 were ported over to the Droid on 2.01 within days. Also other features like Multi-touch browser from the European version of the Droid, the Milestone, were also ported over to the US version of the Droid.

Roms are like the best bits and pieces of everything that's out there.

Also if you someday want to have HTC's sense UI on the Droid, rooting and using a cooked Rom is the way to go.

Yes I always perform a backup first. Is your phone already rooted? If so you most certainly have Nandroid.

I simply boot into recovery mode by

Holding "X" while turning on the phone.

Phone boots into recovery mode with little Green Android with exclamation point on his belly.

Use your dpad arrow keys or the volume keys to select backup/restore, then press camera button to select.

Choose either Simple Nandroid backup or Advanced Nandroid Backup.

If you are jumping from a 2.01 based Rom to a 2.1 Rom or vice versa, then you will want to select Advanced Nandroid Backup and star all of the extra choices. If not a Simple Nandroid Backup will do.

You'll also want to use Advanced if you care to give the backup a particular name.

Then just choose Perform Backup for Advanced to begin. Simple Nandroid Backup starts immediately when you select it if you choose that route.

That's it. Restoring is pretty much carried out in the same manner.

Let me know if you need more clarification.

To anyone who's considering this path I'd recommend the SholesModUpdater app from the marketplace. It roots, backs up, then mods your phone for you. There's much less room for error this way - the cost is $5 but its so simple its well worth it.

I've been running at 800 MHz for a few days and I must say the perf is great. Unfortunately, the battery life sucks. When 2.1 gets officially pushed out I'll likely downgrade to 2.1 stock with no OC and see if I can bear the performance. If not I'll go back up to 800 and live with the crappy battery life.

Well, the "official" 2.1 has leaked and has already been re-purposed into an amazing Rom. Overclocked to 1.25Ghz and running smooth as butter with no crashes or problems of any kind yet. Check out the forums here:

http://alldroid.org/threads/15839-2.1-ROM-1.25Ghz-SS-MAJ
OR-Beta-ERE25-Build-(3-1-2010)

ChevyNo1 and pete both did a remarkable job on this thing. My phone just got a whole lot more usable. Multitouch is included in all the standard apps, live backgrounds have been incorporated into the rom, as well as a ton of other stuff. If you want to install 2.1 without the overclocking or modified theme check out pete's thread at:

http://alldroid.org/threads/15839-2.1-ROM-1.25Ghz-SS-MAJ
OR-Beta-ERE25-Build-(3-1-2010)