So most people won't have to use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) ever, but if you want to learn how or want to get a little more technical with your Android phone, here's how to get it set up.
I. Setting Up The SDK
1. Download the Latest Android SDK from Google
2. Extract the Android SDK .Zip file to C:\AndroidSDK (this should name the new folder created AndroidSDK in the C directory.
3. On your phone, click Settings > Applications > Development and make sure USB Debugging is on.
4. Plug your phone into your computer via USB cable (it needs to be on). It should say installing drivers if using Windows.
!UPDATE 12.01.09 – If using Windows 7 skip steps 4 and 5 and use this procedure instead.
5. After it installs the drivers, goto the Start menu and type cmd into the search bar (Vista or higher) or click Run then type in cmd (XP) to open the command prompt.
6. Type the following into the command prompt window (hitting enter at the end of every line):
cd\
cd AndroidSDK\tools\
adb devices
You should see a serial number pop up, it's the serial number of your phone. This means you are all set.
If you do NOT see a serial number, then we need to reinstall the drivers.
II. Reinstall Drivers (If they did not install properly in Section I)
1. Download USBDeview
2. While the phone is still plugged in, open USBDeview and sort by manufacturer. Find all the HTC drivers and delete them all.
3. Once all have been deleted, unplug the phone from the USB cable and plug it back in.
4. The correct drivers should reinstall automatically (check the drivers as they are installing, one should say ADB Device driver).
5. To check, goto Devices (or Device Manager for older versions of Windows) in your Start menu then click on the "Android Phone". Click on the Hardware tab, and check the list of drivers for ADB Interface under Type.
*Otherwise, if you don't see an ADB driver for your phone then install the drivers for your specific phone manually.
Download your phone's driver's below then click Update Driver > Browse > Let me pick > Computer > Have Disk > Browse > Then select the driver you downloaded below:
Motorola Droid Drivers (unzip the file once you download it).
Motorola CLIQ Drivers (follow the instructions on the page).
!!!!You can also goto Device Manager > Right Click Android Phone > Properties > Update Driver > Browse My Computer > Goto the Android SDK Folder > And click USB Driver folder then click ok and it should install the ADB driver.!!!!
5. Done! Now you can use ADB to alter your phone from your computer.
III. Some Common ADB/Fastboot Commands
ADB Commands
adb devices – lists which devices are currently attached to your computer
adb install <packagename.apk> – lets you install an Android application on your phone
adb remount – Remounts your system in write mode – this lets you alter system files on your phone using ADB
adb push <localfile> <location on your phone> – lets you upload files to your phones filesystem
adb pull <location on your phone> <localfile> – lets you download files off your phones filesystem
adb logcat – starts dumping debugging information from your handset to the console – useful for debugging your apps
adb shell <command> – drops you into a basic linux command shell on your phone with no parameters, or lets you run commands directly
Fastboot Commands
fastboot devices – lists which devices in fastboot mode are currently attached to your computer
fastboot boot <filename> – boots a rom stored on your pc specified by the filename
fastboot flash <partition> <filename> – flashes a rom stored on your pc, partition can be one of {boot, recovery, system, userdata}
