Droid 2 SBF, Factory Data Reset

To SBF:

1. Install RSDLite (I used 4.9) in Windows.
2. Install latest Motorola drivers if not already installed.
3. Download SBF file you desire (stock Froyo in my case VRZ_955_2.3.20.zip, then extract to SBF file).
4. Sync Google data and backup anything you don't want to lose.
5. Turn Droid 2 off.
6. While holding the up key on the slide-out keyboard, power the phone on. It will go to a black screen with some low-res white text.
7. Connect the phone to the PC with RSDLite using USB.
8. At the RSDLite file box, browse to the location of your SBF file and choose it.
9. Click "Start"
10. It'll take about 5-7 minutes. When it gets near 100%, hold a finger over the up key on the slide-out keyboard.
11. When the flash reaches 100% in RSDLite and it briefly states it is rebooting your phone, press and hold the up key while it reboots.
12. After it reboots, watch in RSDLite for the message at the right reading "PASS." Now you can close RSDLite, shut phone off, and turn back on.

The first time I tried this from Squidly back to stock Froyo, it worked. When it rebooted, I had to reactive my phone by dialing *228 and choosing option 1. Then I was able to receive the OTA Gingerbread update from Verizon.

The second time I needed to do this a few months later, before taking my phone in for possible warranty replacement, I got the "PASS" but when booting up normally, it always got stuck in a boot loop at the droid red light. I always had to pull the battery. Finally, I had to boot to the recovery menu by holding down the "x" key on the slide-out keyboard while powering up the phone. After booting that way, I saw a triangle with a "!" inside. At that screen, press the search key (I used the magnifying glass key on the slide-out). That brings it to the recovery menu where the volume keys can be used for navigation and the camera key to choose. I chose "factory data reset." It returned me to brand-new, out-of-the-box configuration with Froyo 2.2. I had to step through activating the phone, etc. just like when it was new. Then I went to Settings, About Phone, System Updates. That started the OTA Gingerbread update. After the long download, it installed and rebooted successfully to a stock OTA Gingerbread.

Now, if desired, it can be rooted with Pete's Droid 3 Linux root script, then install ROM Manager, then download and install whatever replacement ROM using ClockworkMod Recovery directly or simply using the option in ROM Manager.