Rooting?

[krazzyjman]

Do I need to back up my phone before I root? And how do I back it up if I need to?

 

[krazzyjman]

Also for Z4root, do I want to click temporary or permanent?

 

[brewcrewwheels]

Do I need to back up my phone before I root? And how do I back it up if I need to?

you could back up your phone without root with a backup utility in the market. i use mybackup pro (titanium backup is another), but it is not free. you could try and find one that is. once you are rooted, you will need koush's droid x bootstrapper. once you are rooted and have that, you can make backups for free. though i would recommend getting a backup utility to backup app data and text messges, etc.

How to: Create a Full Nandroid Backup on a DROID X - Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog

Also for Z4root, do I want to click temporary or permanent?

that's up to you, but i would recommend permanent. you can always go back into the app and unroot if you need to