Concise guide to upgrading to WM6.1?/michyrom - Advantage X7500, MDA Ameo ROM Development

Hi there,
I'm looking to upgrade my stock (and unlocked) x7501 to WM6.1. First up i'd like to say that I *have* read the forums, and I *have* read lots of threads about upgrading. Unfortunately it seems I still don't understand what the entire process is.
Firstly, what is SPL? I could not discover what this acronym means. Thus, how do I determine my SPL version, and does this have anything to do with the fact that my phone is factory unlocked or not? Apparently the first step is to run something like Hard-SPL unlocker but my phone is unlocked - I don't want to do something unnecessary or brick the phone.
It seems unfortunate that other users asking similar questions to me got flamed for not reading or 'not reading enough' but i can say that unless i missed a crucial reading thread (i have read all the stickys) then it certainly isnt very clear what the process is.
Any help much appreciated.

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hi
a little help on the acronyms from the wiki page:
CID lock (aka vendor lock): puts on your device by the manufacturer to prevent installation of a ROM not released by them.
HardSPL: This modified bootloader allows a much safer flashing process to take place since it reduces the chance of permenently bricking your device. It also removes the need to CID Unlock the device since it ALWAYS reports SuperCID when flashing. See the official thread for more info.
Hard Reset: Similar to a soft reset, by performing a hard reset you completely wipe your device and restore it to the position it was in when you first turned the device on after it was purchased or after a new ROM is flashed.
Radio: The radio stack is responsible for the phone functionality of the device. This includes GPRS, GSM, UMTS, and GPS operations as well as camera functionality. The version you use depends on who your carrier is as users have reported versions working better on one carrier than the other. The wiki pages contain the latest versions available to download and install.
ROM: The ROM holds the Operating system and other components such as the bluetooth and wifi stacks. The ROM is accompanied by the Radio, Ext_ROM, SPL and IPL. Carriers such as T-mobile or Vodaphone taylor the ROM to their specifications and version numbers do not carry the same meaning across different carriers. IF the carrier you use supports the device well they will usually release regular ROM updates.
RUU - ROM Upgrade Utility: It’s the s/w used on your PC to do a ROM upgrade for your PPC;
IPL - Initial Program Loader: It’s the bootloader for PPC. It boots up SPL;
SPL - Secondary Program Loader: Loads the actual OS;
WWE: World Wide English Edition;
SSPL: SSPL is a modified bootloader which is loaded into RAM when run, this allows us to overwrite any aspect of the ROM, Radio or Bootloader far easier than using mtty.

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I agree
I have noticed a lot of members with only a few posts asking questions and making fundamental mistakes and I usually say "read the wiki and do a search " but I did just that and there are a confusing array of answers.
I wil try to do an idiots guide later and post it here unless someone with more time does it first

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Thanks robson/lakeman, that actually helps a lot.
So... We want to put a new SPL on the system, so that the IPL loads the new SPL (HardSPL), which gets around CID locking to allow you to flash the ROM via an RUU?

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Also, would like to add that there are two types of rom's.
Rom's for SPL1.2 and rom's for SPL3.5
If it is the first time I would suggest you first, to load SPL1.2 rom's
This way you can go back to original rom's very easy.
Rom's made to SPL3.5 gives more freedom to rom cookers, but once you are on SPL3.5 you cannot go back to original rom's unless you first revert to SPL1.2 first.
The process to revert from SPL1.2 to SPL3.5 and viceversa can be very tricky and can give you a lot of headackes.
You will need to read a lot and be aware of posible problems ( and resolutions ).
Welcome to this wonderfull world

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re: spl and upgrading roms
putting aside my previous post, that's probably as far as i can go in terms of the techie stuff =)
my story: i was actually content with my original, untouched u1000 rom. then something happened with my bluetooth (all sounds kept on being streaming even without the bt activated)...that forced me to upgrade to ap3...probably the first rom upgrade that was made available for the u1000. i sorta felt that i had nothing to lose...if the rom upgrade couldn't fix the bt issue...then i'd get a replacement unit...
once i upgraded to ap3...and it was successful...i then tried out the rom upgrade by irus. it was fantastic...most notable was the auto-rotate feature....but apparently i was having some vga issues as i couldn't get 96dpi to work. that's when i installed michy's rom and i've been having a blast since then.
my point: i really can't answer the spl part in your original post...i kinda remember how to find the spl version....but i don't want to end up bricking or damaging your unit. there are others in the athena forum who are best qualified to answer that.....but once you get beyond this, let me know and i'd be happy to help you out in upgrading to michy's rom.
cheers

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Robson, cool, your input is much appreciated. I think the first step is to find out my SPL version. I'll hunt around the forums/wiki for that, but if anyone knows off the top of their head, feel free to post.

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Press all the way in the camera button and at the same time soft-reset.
Keep until it displays the famous tri-color screen. Loose buttons.
You will see something like this ( in my case ):
ATHE100
IPL-v1.00
ATHE100
SPL-v1.20.Olipro ( because I have already unlocked )
If your unit is virgin you will be SPL-v1.00 if I remember well.
regards,