Best upgrade route for my device - Advantage X7500, MDA Ameo Upgrading

Hi,
I have a HTC X7500 it's opretty much as it was out of the box and has the following OS installed, the device is HTC branded and was purchased as a vanilla device without a contract.
Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional
CE OS 5.2.1238 (Build 17745.0.2.3)
I'm looking at options to update the devices software, is this build fine for everyday use or will I get any great brenefits from upgrading to a newer cooked ROM?
Just looking for some advice.
Cheers
GD

Just from personal experience, upgrading to AP4 and radio 1.58 opened a whole new world of functionality. Radio 1.58 alone was invaluable since it just about doubled my 3G/H data transfer (and I think enabled voice and data at the same time, not sure if this was a network change or from my upgrade, I just know it couldn't do it on my stock ROM). AP4 had a bunch of stuff I would have had to track down and install individually, such as RealVGA, VNC, a good phone skin, upgraded MS Office applications, etc.
On the downside, I now wish AP4 did not have Flash or Opera built-in, because it causes conflicts and won't allow Flash to work on newer Opera builds. I could try one of the OS installer editors and remove them, but I haven't.

Related

Just came from a Wizard, some questions.

Hey guys, I just sold my wizard and bought a 8525. It seems that on my MDA there was this thing called an Extended Rom that I really never found much out about and left it alone and upgraded to Windows Mobile 6 without the Extended Rom. What I am wondering is if my new 8525 will also have this extended rom, and will it do me any good? It will be from ATT but I am using it on a Tmobile network, so I don't need any of that ATT stuff, I also plan on flashing it with a WM6 rom after SIM and CID unlocking through the program available here. Any suggestions or help?
Hi johnny13oi - welcome to the exciting world of Hermes.
I don't know much about Wizard, but extrom on Hermes is just some more storage space. You can unlock it and use it as a place to install (some) programs, store information etc. You unlock it with a number of utilities (I use Schaps Advanced Config v1.1 - which you can download from the forums).
Some of the exceptional ROM cooks on this forum have managed to include the extrom into the overall device storage so it doesn't appear as anything separate and just appears to be part of your main storage.
No doubt some of the more technical folk who frequent this place will give you some more detailed information.
There's a heap of information on everything to do with Hermes in these forums so have a good read through the various topics and posts and find out what amazing things you can do with these little devices.
Good luck!
Oh wow thanks for the whole write up. I think on the Wizard, or Tmobile MDA atleast, the extrom was locked and any sort of flashing that touched that part caused the phone to become bricked?
Johnny,
Welcome to XDA. I would suggest you spend some time reading the wiki and stickies on here to get a general heads-up of what's what on the Hermes.
CR1960 is partially right; the extended rom can be unhidden and unlocked to give you some more storage space; however care is needed here.
On the standard roms (eg WM5) the extended rom is where a lot of system cab files are kept. Also, if I recall correctly, you can't write to the extended rom if the file is not properly signed. if I recall correctly also there is a utility to get round this.
On cooked WM6 roms the extended rom is used for a variety of things. Again, if I recall correctly,Schaps, for example, who is a well known rom cooker on here, keeps his autoconfig utility and other configurable items in here on some of his roms.
Spend some time reading and listening and you will soon get the gist of it all.
Good luck.
WB
If I were to flash roms to the hermes, would I have to do anything with the extended rom at all? Or will it do it all on its own.
johnny13oi said:
If I were to flash roms to the hermes, would I have to do anything with the extended rom at all? Or will it do it all on its own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is included in the roms. Schaps, Vp3g, and all the other hardcore rom cookers make it so that you have a very streamlined rom (all the extra crap out of the ext rom) with lots of storage.
I would not recommend messing with the ext rom unless you know what you are doing. Hell, I've only begun to tinker with it and if I do flash it to my phone I would be sweating bullets the whole time! On the other hand I have no problem flashing trusted rom builds or tearing a windows.nb apart!
I think if you flashed any of the cooked roms around here you would not even have to worry about the ext rom. You'll have lots of storage space and all the good stuff you need!

Upgrading my phone for the 1st time.

I have Verizon Wireless service. I want to upgrade my phone for the first time. I've been reading alot and the Wiki but it doesn't go into great detal about how to do it. I want to make sure I have got everything down correctly first.
- First, get my phones ESN, MSID, Security, EPST, and M. IP settings by using ##778, etc.
- Second, I unlock the phone and install BootLoader 2.40 per Wiki instructions.
- Third, I install Titan_Radio_ROM_3.42.30 by coping TITAIMG.nbh to my SD mini card and running bootloader by pressing the 3 keys.
- Fourth, I install dcd_titan_kitchen_3.2.2 by running it and compiling it and coping the created RUU_signed.nbh after renaming it to TITAIMG.nbh and copying it to the SD card and running bootloader by using the 3 keys.
I pretty much checked everything before I compiled it, except items that did the same thing or that was double like the different versions of the camera. Is that OK, or will it eat up all my memory, or will I have other problems? I didn't know what alot of the stuff was, so I thought it would just be best to install everything. Also, the wiki talks about choosing the right carrier and not more then one carrier, but that option wasn't there. I assume that's what the VZ cab is now here for?
- Fifth, copy dcd Verizon Carrier 20080706.cab to the SD card and run that.
Then I do a soft reset and everything should be working? Is that right? Did I miss anything?
I also don't understand the A-key problem and how to avoid it.
I'm also confused about not booting after you upgrade the ROM and after the screen calibration the carrier customisations will run and alter my EPST settings to the operators settings and my phone will be configured to the wrong service. What's that about?
Will it allow me to run the verizon cab file from the SD card after I install the ROM without having to soft boot the phone?
Also, can I use PIM backup and restore to backup to my SD card and then restore after the ROM upgrade? Will that be a problem?
Thanks for your help and time.
Long post, so here is mine:
Your four steps are pretty close, other than mentioning the formatting of the sd card which you probably already know how to do via cmd, you have it right.
If you are not checking extra boxes in the kitchen, you can just use the ROM he posts underneath. If you want standard games, x-button, different versions of the phone or camera, etc or if you want to install your own OEMs then the kitchen is for you. Sounds like you are just planning on hitting everything, which I would suggest against (you don't want or need two phone versions, two cameras, etc). Leave the items where they are unless you know why you are changing them, dont click everything. Do some research on each item by googling xda here.
With regard to carrier cabs, run your carrier cab afterward to get functionality. Yes you can run from SD. I have never needed to do an A-Key reset, but others had to after upgrading radio. Just call verizon and tell them you are not able to authenticate your phone and they will reset your phone for you. Don't worry about what it is or why it happens.
Letting customizations run is for when you run the sprint update, which it doesn't sound like you are doing. If you are running the updates over sd card, you can let the customizations run, but since you dont have UC (research here) there is nothing to run so no worries; it will try to run your UC and see there is nothing there and just reboot, kewl. Don't use backups (Sprite or SPB or otherwise, best to use activesync and UC (see above).
Yes, the simple stuff I left out like formatting the card, etc. I understand that.
I guess I need to use the Kitchen because their are some items in there that I want, and some items that I don't know what they are, and I'll look into it like you said instead of just checking everything just incase it's something I might want or need in the future. Like I said I didn't click on everything, stuff that do the same thing, or different versions of the same thing I didn't click on. So, I think I just clicked on everything but Enterprise + IPSECVPN, Camera 4.05.30525.00, HTC CommManager - Titan 8 Button, and HTC Titan PhoneCanvas (Dailer).
It sounds like I won't need Enterprise + IPSECVPN, because it sounds like it's for some kind of Enterprise network with VPN, and I don't have something like that. I would like to know the difference between the version 4 & 5 of the Camera. I assume version 5 is better. I assume that the Touch 10 is better then the Titan 8 button, but would like to know the differences, also the differences in the Dialers. I assumed the Vogue was preffered since it was the default one that was checked. I haven't checked out the link you left for me yet, so I'll do that to see if I can see the differences.
Do I do a soft reset after I install the Radio and before I install the ROM and after I install the ROM and before I install the Carrier Cab file?
I'm having problems doing backups now. I don't have activesync because I have Vista and it doesn't use activesync. I was able to do backups with Outook and Windows, but they won't work anymore. I was using the USB data cable and they were working fine, but then I got a Bluetooth Dongle and installed that and it messed everything up. I tried one that was compatible with XP and downloaded different drivers and I couldn't get it to work. So, I purchased one that was compatible with Vista and it would sync but not backup my contacts and appointments with Outlook like it would with the data cable. I tried using the USB cable and it won't work anymore either. I can't even get it to make a connection anymore, and it will show an error on the phone. That's why I got the PIM backup and restore software to backup to and from the SD card. I haven't used it yet. I was going to try and use it, and then do a Hard Reset and then restore my data to my phone and try to get it to backup to my Outlook like it used to with the USB Cable. If I can get that to work I was going to try and do the Titan ROM update. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks for all the help!! Take care!
serfboreds said:
Long post, so here is mine:
Your four steps are pretty close, other than mentioning the formatting of the sd card which you probably already know how to do via cmd, you have it right.
If you are not checking extra boxes in the kitchen, you can just use the ROM he posts underneath. If you want standard games, x-button, different versions of the phone or camera, etc or if you want to install your own OEMs then the kitchen is for you. Sounds like you are just planning on hitting everything, which I would suggest against (you don't want or need two phone versions, two cameras, etc). Leave the items where they are unless you know why you are changing them, dont click everything. Do some research on each item by googling xda here.
With regard to carrier cabs, run your carrier cab afterward to get functionality. Yes you can run from SD. I have never needed to do an A-Key reset, but others had to after upgrading radio. Just call verizon and tell them you are not able to authenticate your phone and they will reset your phone for you. Don't worry about what it is or why it happens.
Letting customizations run is for when you run the sprint update, which it doesn't sound like you are doing. If you are running the updates over sd card, you can let the customizations run, but since you dont have UC (research here) there is nothing to run so no worries; it will try to run your UC and see there is nothing there and just reboot, kewl. Don't use backups (Sprite or SPB or otherwise, best to use activesync and UC (see above).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a size limit to the ROM file RUU_signed.nbh? There should be. Let me know. Thanks.. Steve
Since this is your first ROM upgrade I think you should avoid the kitchen for now and just use DCD's compiled rom. (this is just my opinion) It will really simplify things for you.
As for PIM backup I would think it would work fine for contacts, but I think you will run into issues if you wan to restore SMS backups because of going from WM6 to 6.1 and the threading SMS that is used for 6.1.
I also saw this http://www.dashwire.com/ I haven't used it yet, but its free online solution for backing up your PPC.
As far as your question for soft-resets go, When you run the update the phone should reset on its own. I don't know why your active sync isn't working, but I would try and get it to work before running these updates to ensure proper connectivity of your device before running these updates.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/downloads/microsoft/device-center.mspx
Thats what you would need to get it to connect.
Gluck!
cleanser said:
Since this is your first ROM upgrade I think you should avoid the kitchen for now and just use DCD's compiled rom. (this is just my opinion) It will really simplify things for you.
As for PIM backup I would think it would work fine for contacts, but I think you will run into issues if you wan to restore SMS backups because of going from WM6 to 6.1 and the threading SMS that is used for 6.1.
I also saw this http://www.dashwire.com/ I haven't used it yet, but its free online solution for backing up your PPC.
As far as your question for soft-resets go, When you run the update the phone should reset on its own. I don't know why your active sync isn't working, but I would try and get it to work before running these updates to ensure proper connectivity of your device before running these updates.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/downloads/microsoft/device-center.mspx
Thats what you would need to get it to connect.
Gluck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used PIM Backup since Jan of this year, and have had no issues restoring any SMS from a WM6 to WM6.1. It goes through and threads it all the 1st time you open up messaging, so if you have a large amount of messages, it will take a while to thread it all the 1st time you open it up....
For my first time I did not use the kitchen. I found it pretty easy to do. Just make sure you load the radio b4 the rom.
I just wanted to thank everybody for all there feedback and help, it was very helpful. The 3 main reasons I need to do the ROM update is to take advantage of the new features of WM6.1 and I need to be able to install Java and get my TomTom GPS software working. That's the 3 main reasons right now.
My phone is so messed up right now it's always locking up and having alot of problems from maybe all the apps I installed and tested and stuff. I need to reset it like 3 or 4 times a day. I think that's why I can't sync it with my computer anymore. I'm going to just back it up to the SD card and do a hard reset and get it working again and syncing with my computer and then do the ROM upgrade, etc. I will take your advice and do the stock ROM at first to figure out how to do the upgrade. I will then have to use the Kitchen to enable the GPS and the Java, right? When I do the Kitchen ROM later will I just need to upgrade the ROM, and not worry about any of the other procedures?
Also, when I do use the kitchen to create the ROM what is the size limitation on the ROM file?
Do you also have an option on which Dailer and Camera software?
Thanks again and wish me luck! LOL
Well, I downloaded the DCD compiled rom and it's filename is dcd_titan_3.2.2.exe and I ran it and it doesn't look like you can install it via the SD card. It looks like you have to do it via a PC Sync. Can you do a PC Sync after installing the Radio? Well, let me know. I think I'm ready to get started now. Thanks..
OK, well I got my phone to sync with my PC, but it sometimes has connection and disconnection problems, but I was able to get it to sync everything with my PC once.
I ran EPST and got my ESN and MSID, but I'm not sure what security information I should copy and I can't find the MSN number. There is alot of M.IP information. Do I copy everything in the M.IP Settings and M.IP Default Profile? Is there anything else I'm missing? Thanks.
May I suggest you take a digital Picture and scroll down and take a second one. This eliminates any questions on Handwriting and then blow them up on your PC if you have bad vision.
I found this software and it's even better, it not only allows you to do screenshots, but you can totally control your phone and enter data, etc. from your PC, and it's free!!
MY MOBILER v1.23 (06/15/2008) - FREEWARE
View your mobile screen on your desktop.
Control your mobile by using desktop keyboard and mouse.
Copy/Cut/Paste text between mobile and desktop.
Capture mobile screen.
Drag and drop files to your mobile.
Support ActiveSync / IP Connection
Support Mobile Explorer (File Browse)
http://www.mtux.com/
I found this screen capture software and used it and works great. It only took a few minutes to capture all 13 screens, etc.
SPB ScreenShot Capture Tool
http://www.smartdevicefreeware.com/spb-screenshot-capture-tool/

Kill the customizations when using DCD 3.2.5?

Quick semi-noob question...is it necessary to kill the customizations that run after first coming into the OS after loading DCD 3.2.5? I've been looking around, that would make sense if loading a carrier/OEM ROM, particularly where you have put a SPRINT ROM onto a VZW phone etc...but I would think DCD's ROM is not carrier-specific in any way...so my assumption is you let it run because it has some clean-up/util installations, then go ahead and run your carrier-specific CAB afterwords???
You are correct. You only need to kill the customizations if you are running an official ROM on an unsupported phone (ie: Sprint Rom on Verizon phone)
The customizations on the DCD ROMs are actually user customizations off the SD Card. You can set up a bunch of CAB files, etc. to be installed automatically after a hard reset. For instance, mine is set to reinstall all my applications and set the registration codes for purchased software after a reset. More information can be found here. It's really quite handy and can save a lot of time after flashing. In a way it's better than a backup and restore because a lot of backup programs have some issues after a ROM change. In other ways, it's not so good (still haven't found where opera stores it's registration code for instance). It also gives you a clean system without the grunge from your old setup that a backup/restore would put in.
Thanks guys...yeah, I knew about the user UC stuff you can do to install CABs, etc. Pretty neat stuff, this is my first time using DCD as my prior phone was Apache with various Helmi ROMs. I will look into that, nice way to get it all back on quickly if things get hosed up. I just wasn't sure if I short-changed the DCD ROM by aborting the customizations, I noticed a couple of often-desired utils aren't in the image (like PDF viewer) and wasn't sure if they get installed with letting that fly instead of killing it...but do see that the idea of the DCD ROM is to be pretty stripped/clean anyway.

Light ROM vs. fully loaded ROM question

I know i have seen this mentioned before but in running a search never found a definitive thread on it...so forgive me if this is redundant.
Its my understanding that the same rom build but one being loaded with as many programs as the partition will allow vs. the same rom build with most extra programs taken out should have no noticeable impact on performance as long as you use the task manager to only allow the same essential programs to load at bootup. the down side of a 'light' rom is if you want to add programs later it will not be installed in the partition with the rom....even if there is space..it will take away from storage space.
My question is, if my above assumptions are correct, why do people want light roms? why not have one loaded up with all that can fit...no matter if your talking 2.1 or 3.5 (3.5 giving more space for roms due to the partition being moved).
thanks
Why installing many non needed applications isn't a good idea in ANY PC?
Because..... startup loading .dll, services, reading BIG registry file, crowded windows directory slow down the PC, decreasing available resources and memory.
A WM6 ROM is a swiss knife! Many things, to answer to all user needs... but I have mine . SO you can chose the fast way, flashing a lite rom, of the hardest way (mine), flashing a FULL rom and stopping non needed services, avoid loading uneeded dlls... The same things the chef does before releasing a lite rom . This is the hardest way, you have to know deeply WM6 structure, using a light rom is the easiest way
sergiopi said:
Why installing many non needed applications isn't a good idea in ANY PC?
Because..... startup loading .dll, services, reading BIG registry file, crowded windows directory slow down the PC, decreasing available resources and memory.
A WM6 ROM is a swiss knife! Many things, to answer to all user needs... but I have mine . SO you can chose the fast way, flashing a lite rom, of the hardest way (mine), flashing a FULL rom and stopping non needed services, avoid loading uneeded dlls... The same things the chef does before releasing a lite rom . This is the hardest way, you have to know deeply WM6 structure, using a light rom is the easiest way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stop, stop, stop
My rom is really full, and isnt slower then light roms.
hehe!
There is a difference in available memory with the different SPLs, spl1.2 gives you more storage memory than spl3.5.
That said......
when a rom is loaded with programs it sometimes gives a user problems to install a new build of a said program that was loaded in rom. When you install a newer build and then try to uninstall it you might end up with a "hanged" device (this happened to me multiple times), and the only way to not see that wait cursor is to soft reset, and after soft reset, the program is still there in "remove programs", and if you try to run it after soft reset it won't run, and if you try to install it again you will get the message that the program is already installed and you have to remove it first and when you try to remove it again your device is stuck with the wait cursor again.........after all this, the only way to remove this program that you can't use anymore is to do a hard reset.
this happened to me too many times, this doesn't happen all the time though...some programs got installed over whats built in, like opera9.5 but I ended up with 2 icons in programs.
This is one of the reasons that kicked me away from full roms. I liked full roms before but after these incidents I find that lite roms don't/hardly come with those kind of problems, plus I get more space with spl1.2 to install a good amount of programs that I use regularly and still have more than 100MB left to install more programs that has to be installed to main memory.
Below are things I had said in another post and didn't want to rewrite it, so I just copied and paste (something my friend can't do on his iphone, ha, I still laugh at him about it)
Well really, Lite versions don't really bring much to the table except that it allows me to install only the apps that I need or want without having my programs folder looking like something out of a horror movie , eg. if I use the more robust SoftMake Office 2008 there's really no need for me to have MS Office installed, right?
Lite versions gives me an almost clean OS which gives me the "feeling" that my phone runs faster (even it it isn't running faster and just a subconscious feeling). Plus it installs faster .
Lite Versions are just the courtesy from the chef to us the people who wants the lite version, because the chef cooks in the apps that he wants, so for him to take out all that just for us is real generous....get what I'm trying to say?
It is nothing superior to the full, it doesn't carry the bells and whistles, its just what it is "lite". I have a plethora of cabs and only the ones I use. On a full install I hardly use 50% of the apps that comes with it....actually, I might only use 25%.
For me it all boils down to this......a lite version offers me the option of really customizing my phone, no additives, just the things I put in it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2536154&postcount=26

Help program memory

I have a HKWWE HD2, with JP winnls hacked in.
Generally if I open opera + email, I can't open any other programs. eg albums will say no memory can't open.
Settings will show 203mb program memory free and 70mb storage free
I can open fewer programs than on my old 32ram phone.
Installed are spb mob shell, pocket plus, phone suite
I don't know if it has to do with the pagepool, but you can always try a different ROM.
Are you using a 3.14 based rom without 3.03.hspl? 3.14 roms mess up the ram with any other spl/hspl.
I'm using retail shipped rom, but seriously considering android/wm7 now if only i had time to find a tomtom replacement
speakerphone said:
I'm using retail shipped rom,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't really answer my question, if the rom you are running is a 3.14 rom and you flashed it whilst (example) your spl was 2.08.hspl, then it will mess with stability and available ram.

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