Rooting and Installing Custom Recovery on LG Optimus One P500

Here's how I rooted and installed ClockworkMod Recovery on my LG Optimus One P500 (O1). Apart from the fact that I try to make this guide as accurate as possible, I should not be held responsible shall anything bad happen to your phone as a result of following it. :)

Rooting

One of the most popular apps to root O1 phones is z4root. The most comprehensive guide for this can be found in The LG Optimus One P500 Blog. Several notes about z4root:

• It is known that z4root could not be used to root devices upgraded to the V10e firmware.
• Even though your firmware is older than V10e (e.g. V10c), make sure that the Android version is not newer than 2.2 (e.g. 2.2.1). I've read people facing problems rooting their devices with z4root if the Android version is newer than 2.2. If you can't get z4root to root your device, give SuperOneClick or GingerBreak a go.

BusyBox and Superuser apps are required by many rooted apps for their proper functioning. So, use Root Checker from Android Market to verify the proper installation of these 2 apps.

Installing Custom Recovery

I'm a n00b so I look for the easiest way to get things done, and I found that the easiest way to install a custom recovery is to flash ClockworkMod Recovery using the "official" method below. :) Please be aware that to be able to install custom recovery to your device, it must be rooted.

1. Install ROM Manager from Market and launch it.
2. Tap the first option i.e. the one that says 'Flash ClockworkMod Recovery'. Specify or confirm your phone model if prompted during the process, and follow any on-screen instructions.
3. Once the process is finished, you have the custom recovery installed on your phone.

Once it has been installed, booting into ClockworkMod Recovery can be done by launching ROM Manager and tapping 'Reboot into Recovery'. Once you have booted into recovery, the touchscreen won't work. You can navigate through the options by using the Volume-Up and Volume-Down keys to highlight an option and the 'Menu' key to enter/launch the highlighted option on the O1. Now, it's time to create a backup of your system before you mess with it any further! ;)

AddictiveTips has a complete guide for ClockworkMod Recovery.