Caveat(Edit)

Note: This is currently a total scratchpad area at this time.

It is my first install, and I am doing everything exactly by the book. Hopefully on my second time I can write this better. For now, I can only provide vague ideas.

Process Overview(Edit)

1. Download a ton of little bits.
1. adb (Android Debug Bridge) - very important. Once you enable Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging, you can plug the phone in and push/pull files, start a shell, etc.
2. The exploit - This will vary from version to version of Android's OS + vendor setup. I tried several, unsuccessfully, for my HTC Inspire.
3. The ROM - CyanogenMod, etc. This will be the new software for the phone once you root it.
4. Other various parts.
2. Create a "goldcard", though I am still not sure what this special SD card does - http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Howto:_Create_a_Goldcard
1. This link is Windows-only. My suspicion is that you could accomplish this with dd if=goldcard.img of=/dev/sda1 #...but it needs to be tested. TODO
3. Downgrade the firmware to a crackable version. At the time of the writing of the docs, it was 1.32.405.6 - http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/AT%26T_Inspire_4G:_Firmware_Downgrade_%28Gingerbread%29
4. "Root, S-OFF, ClockworkMod Recovery, and Engineering HBoot"
5. Flash Cyanogenmod (or whatever other ROM you choose)

Failed Attempts:(Edit)

Both of these fail at the psneuter step, saying: "Failed to set prot mask (Inappropriate ioctl for device)"

• http://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-root-att-inspire-4g-20535/ (incomplete instructions, bad download links)
• http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/HTC_Ace:_Rooting_%26_CyanogenMod (better, but still didn't work immediately)