I want to delve a little deeper into the nokia n900 and I need root.
Ive read through the wiki and searched this forum. Here's a major problem with the wiki, it may have simple straightforward steps but not a single thought to: what if that doesn't work!

Here's what I'm working with:
$ sudo gainroot
Enable RD mode if you want to break your device
thats the response!? google that error message and you get one thread that veers wildly around for a while then plunges off the cliff face and explodes movie style.
when i try
$ sudo rootsh or $sudo su
it asks for a password that i never set, now im getting steamed
I dont want to break my device! I dont want to get into RD mode
I just want some good ol'fashioned root, what am i missing here?