Related
Hey guys, i have read all of the guides and alot on the forums, i am also a member at TX and Da_Gs blackjack site so i have flashed new ROMs to the Blackjack hundreds of times. I feel pretty good about flashing my ATT 8525 with a cooked ROM but, I just want to verify something..........
(1) I should flash to the HardSPL first right? If i follow the guide it looks easy.
(2) I have on my 8525 the 1.54 radio and it works really well in my area, so after the HardSPL then flash the rom then i should still have the 1.54 radio? Is that right? it works just like on the Blackjack....the radio and boot and ROM are all separate installs?
I know some ROMs have all 3 together but the ROM i like, K's WM6.0 FINAL
does not have the SPL or radio.
Buckoni said:
Hey guys, i have read all of the guides and alot on the forums, i am also a member at TX and Da_Gs blackjack site so i have flashed new ROMs to the Blackjack hundreds of times. I feel pretty good about flashing my ATT 8525 with a cooked ROM but, I just want to verify something..........
(1) I should flash to the HardSPL first right? If i follow the guide it looks easy.
(2) I have on my 8525 the 1.54 radio and it works really well in my area, so after the HardSPL then flash the rom then i should still have the 1.54 radio? Is that right? it works just like on the Blackjack....the radio and boot and ROM are all separate installs?
I know some ROMs have all 3 together but the ROM i like, K's WM6.0 FINAL
does not have the SPL or radio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) It is very easy....and definalty do it BEFORE anything else
2) the radio version currently on your hermes will stay there yes, unless you flash a ROM which contains a radio image. Nearly ALL the cooked WM6 versions are OS only.
Hey Thanks MrVanx! Thats all i neede to know! I will post afterwards to let ya'll know how it went.
It's pretty simple really once you know...
Run SIM & SID unlock, run Hard SPL v7, then click the RUU Wrapper file and install the required rom!
Easy!
Oh and the guide on Vanx's site is handy too!
Nice to see someone that read forum and wiki, and then ask a question.
hey guys everything went great! I have also installed the Cube to this ROM and it works great but, i really don't see it as being very useful as it is quicker to use the phone as it came. I do like how i can look through the contacts and pie with my fingers instead of the sylus but, thats about it.
I will try as many different ROMs as i can get ahold of and i might even down load one of the kitchens and start to roll my own,LOL! this is really changing what i do with my spare time! I used to hotrod my motorcycle or the computer or even my PSP but this is alot more fun!
Thank You to all the people here and over at TXceaser and Da_Gs web site!
You have really been a great bunch to learn from!
Buckoni
Greetings all, I have a probably dumb question I can't seem to find an answer to:
Today I installed HardSPL v1.20 as a stand-alone (through the wrapper?) and now I want to upgrade to AP4, but I see that it requires SPL 3.5? I downloaded the AP4.0 installer from the official thread and tried to install it, but it stalls out (because of my SPL version?)
In any event, I am pretty confused right now, and just need some guidance. Do I want to run AP4 on SPL 1.2? Or is there an advantage to using SPL 3.5 instead?
Thanks in advance,
Rob
If I were you, I'll wait for AP5 on SPL 1.2. Beta is due out soon.
Agree with the sage from above post.
AP4 is great rom, being enjoying it, many thanks to the great AP Team.
robroy90 said:
Greetings all, I have a probably dumb question I can't seem to find an answer to:
Today I installed HardSPL v1.20 as a stand-alone (through the wrapper?) and now I want to upgrade to AP4, but I see that it requires SPL 3.5? I downloaded the AP4.0 installer from the official thread and tried to install it, but it stalls out (because of my SPL version?)
In any event, I am pretty confused right now, and just need some guidance. Do I want to run AP4 on SPL 1.2? Or is there an advantage to using SPL 3.5 instead?
Thanks in advance,
Rob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the AP4 installer puts SPL 3.5 on your machine.
If it didn't work , you haven't followed the instructions correctly.
may I suggest reading the thread to see the problems that were resolved
Further , if you want to try AP5 now you must have SPL3.5
have you read the guide?
http://www.htc-hackers.com/uploads/AP4_How_To_1.8.pdf
I read the how to
I followed the directions in the 1.8 how to guide, and even tried it on two different Vista machines and an XP machine, all with the same result. When I run the .exe to actually start the update it writes the pmemdump and itsutils files to the folder and then it just stalls and never goes further. I made sure the machines had .net, etc. I am just stuck and don't understand why I can't get the AP4 installer to go further. Thanks!
are you sure you did step 7 and 10?
if you have then try another cable, sometimes the connection is dodgy
Actually I am interested in the answer to the final question that started this thread.
What are the advantages to switching from SPL 1.2 over to SPL 3.5? It would seem that with the inability to switch back to 1.2 in order to load a stock ROM if you ever wanted to that switching over to 3.5 is a one-way trip. So it would seem to be important to know what the benefits are of such a change.
I have read all the threads looking for this answer and all I have been able to gleem is that to load AP 4.0 or the current beta AP 5.0 you must switch, but with the Irus ROMs that allow the features of AP 4.0 on SPL 1.2 it would seem that isn't much of an advantage anymore.
I am sure I probably have seen and read somewhere here some advantage, but I guess it just didn't sink in or make sense to me. So for a simple guy, what are the advantages to switching over to SPL 3.5?
Thanks in advance.
Why is everyone so scared of SPL 3.5? It's running perfectly fine on my Advantage.
Why : if you want to sale the athena you can't .... If you want to go back to an original shipped rom you can't (except for wwe or fre htc branded rom until now)
Off course ap4 or ap5 is realy a very good job!
geek78 said:
Why : if you want to sale the athena you can't .... If you want to go back to an original shipped rom you can't (except for wwe or fre htc branded rom until now)
Off course ap4 or ap5 is realy a very good job!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to sell it? First off, I've never had to warrant ANY device I've bought. Second, it's out of your hands once you sell it. I've always sold my devices with custom ROMs and the buyer hasn't said a word.
off course only if you want to sale it...lol
and it is very difficult to sale it if you tell to the buyer that we wont be able to flash any rom...
as soon as cmonex will publish the downgrade too everybody will try ap5
Because it is a one way street that limits your choice to ROMS that still have many issues. This forums clearly shows there are many unesolved bugs, which is why we need AP5 to fix them. Of course we hope AP5 will be able to solve these issues. Yes, there is the option of AP3, but you can have that in spl1.2.
Because there is no need to bloat up the ROM with third party software since we can install them ourselves. We may never want those software, depending on pesonal preferences.
Becaus we want more available memory.
Because we can also have AP4 with spl1.2 (irus version), which still needs some work.
So, why go spl 3.5?
First in response to an earlier post, I am not scared of 3.5 rather I just wanted to know what the advantages were of moving to it since you can't currently move back. And it does seem there are issues with AP 4.0.
I understand for some the concern is being able to restore a stock ROM in order to sell their Athena. Since I never plan to sell mine, not an issue.
Now if 3.5 maximizes memory such that we get more available memory than that might be a reason to convert.
But if the only reason out there is AP 4.0 then maybe waiting until AP 5.0 is out fixing many of the issues I have read about in other threads.
Is there any other reason to move from 1.2 to 3.5 ?
C Sammet said:
First in response to an earlier post, I am not scared of 3.5 rather I just wanted to know what the advantages were of moving to it since you can't currently move back. And it does seem there are issues with AP 4.0.
I understand for some the concern is being able to restore a stock ROM in order to sell their Athena. Since I never plan to sell mine, not an issue.
Now if 3.5 maximizes memory such that we get more available memory than that might be a reason to convert.
But if the only reason out there is AP 4.0 then maybe waiting until AP 5.0 is out fixing many of the issues I have read about in other threads.
Is there any other reason to move from 1.2 to 3.5 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SPL 3.5 in a quick answer, is just a tool to modify the partition table of your device, increasing space available for ROM (and reducing the space available for YOU ). AP team developed it after they finished building the AP4 from the new ADVANTAGE ROM (X7510) and the ROM doesn't fit into the original ATHENA partitions.
Do you have any advantage modifiyng the partitions in your PC? YES, if you need a bigger one, NO if you don't.
The only advantage is the capability to use AP4 and AP5 full edition
The SPL 3.5 installed haven't any "software" effect, is just a sign of the newly partitoned ATHENA, Having it installed and using IRUS rom (developed for SPL 3.5) means you are wasting some available space, comparing with the SPL 1.2 version.
SPL 3.5 Explenation
sergiopi said:
SPL 3.5 in a quick answer, is just a tool to modify the partition table of your device, increasing space available for ROM (and reducing the space available for YOU ). AP team developed it after they finished building the AP4 from the new ADVANTAGE ROM (X7510) and the ROM doesn't fit into the original ATHENA partitions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this nugget of information. Now I understand better what or how I'm readying my AP4 upgrade.
Yea, SPL3.5= Pure breed X7510 roms, SPL1.20 ( and others)=ported stuff
If this is a advantage, only the user can say
Thank You. That clears up completely what 3.5 provides versus 1.2.
So if 3.5 is just a re-partitioning of the memory on the Athena to allow for 7510 ROMs then it would make sense to move to it since most future ROM releases will be based on the 7510s ROM.
On that note, in the future would it be possible to load even a stock 7510 ROM on an Anthena with the 3.5 set-up? Or is 3.5 a proprietary set-up created by the AP group here?
Sorry for the additional questions.
most future ROM releases will be based on the 7510s ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know about that, Irus rom is 6.1 based and for what people say they seem to be OK, all depends on what developers want to release, there is no reason why it cannot be developed new rooms for the X7500/7501 format.
Basically since the newest rom came from X7510 you have to choose between modify the X7500 (spl 3.5) or modify the rom to fit our devices.
SPL 3.5 caveat, it wont let you go back to what you had previously, said this I using AP4 and for my is top notch, your choice.
it be possible to load even a stock 7510 ROM on an Anthena with the 3.5 set-up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good question.
(except for wwe or fre htc branded rom until now)
Can somebody tell me where to find
Hi all,
been running my ameo for about 6 weeks now with no issues. (I have wm6 running with spb). Recently, I have had to turn my ameo off as my address book claimed to be empty (fine after restart) however, when I do this messages looses my email account which I set up but claims that it is still there so when I set it up again, I have to change the name. Also, internet access is unobtainable until I have been into network settings and edited existing connections. is this a known issue or is there anything I can do?
Phil
ps i also assume that when I turn off, wm6 forgets my wireless access code as this is also happenning.
Never heard of this before. You may need to try a hard-reset, and if that doesn't work, re-flash your OS.
cheers, have just done a hard reset and will keep an eye on it. Could you post me a link to the best os rom to use (unlocked with olipro's unlocker so 1.2 i think)
Thanks again
I've only used AP4 (which uses olipro 3.5) other than the factory ROM, and I like it a lot.
Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone could give me the low down on which os would be the best for me?
I'm currently using HTC wm6.0 official but am having a few issues as listed above. I'm looking at changing but cannot decide what to. Could you outline highs and lows with Michy and vanilla etc... (or post a link if this has already been done).
Many thanks,
Phil
oh, i almost forgot. I currently have radio 1.50 installed, is it worth updating? if so to which 1.57 or 1.58?
I am using Michy 6.1 spl 3.5. It means WM 6.1 with latest Windows Build, newest Internet Explorer, really close to the desktop one, many usefull applications, realvga, rotation sensor, and TOuchflo 2d if you like.
If you like a LITE rom, there is a lite version, SPL 1.2 too, latest Windows build, no extra applications (but all basic features included)
I am using radio 1.58 and you need 1.57 or better for newest ROM
If you would like to test something with SPL 3.5 you need to flash AP4 first to have SPL 3.5 installed.
pthechemist said:
Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone could give me the low down on which os would be the best for me?
I'm currently using HTC wm6.0 official but am having a few issues as listed above. I'm looking at changing but cannot decide what to. Could you outline highs and lows with Michy and vanilla etc... (or post a link if this has already been done).
Many thanks,
Phil
oh, i almost forgot. I currently have radio 1.50 installed, is it worth updating? if so to which 1.57 or 1.58?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Radio 1.57 gives slightly better battery and slightly better signal, never used 1.58 though.
Jay
1.58 is faster and has better signal sensitivity, you should upgrade.
techntrek said:
1.58 is faster and has better signal sensitivity, you should upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try it on the next rom flash thanks,
regards
Jay
techntrek said:
1.58 is faster and has better signal sensitivity, you should upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but for me, it (1.58) was a battery hog and I had intermittant signal issues at times with AT&T.
Hope this helps............Later
Thanks sergio,
I've searched but cannot find a definite answer, what are the advantages to spl 3.5 over 1.2?
If I upgrade to 3.5 then I think Michy looks the way to go, just gotta work up the confidence to go ahead and do it.
Can anyone tell me where to find an upgrader to apply the .nbh files as this was my issue last time (can't find the one I used previously)
Thanks and apologies as this is straight forward to most.
Phil
pthechemist said:
Thanks sergio,
I've searched but cannot find a definite answer, what are the advantages to spl 3.5 over 1.2?
If I upgrade to 3.5 then I think Michy looks the way to go, just gotta work up the confidence to go ahead and do it.
Can anyone tell me where to find an upgrader to apply the .nbh files as this was my issue last time (can't find the one I used previously)
Thanks and apologies as this is straight forward to most.
Phil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SPL 3.5 was a clever SPL made by olipro to get round the AP 4.0 rom being bigger than the partition set aside for normal stock roms. It adds roughly another 20 mb by taking it from the other side so more apps can be added in the rom. there is a much more scientific answer than this im sure but hey! You have to load the AP 4.0 rom first to install SPL 3.5 if you want the AP 4.0 rom or not, then flash the rom of SPL 3.5 of your choice afterwards. PLEASE follow the included instructions WELL and dont just do what you think will happen or you can run into all sorts of problems. you can downgrade again to SPL 1.2 if its not for you, and you want to load a SPL 1.2 rom again. DONT get mixed up with roms and try loading an SPL 1.2 into a SPL 3.5 or again trouble will follow, the same goes the other way.
Hope this makes things a little clearer.
Regards
Jay
AP 4.0 Platinium is one of the best I have used now. I tried to installed almost of 1.2 SPL and 3.5 SPL and gave out this inclusion.
Trust me as many other guys, AP 4.0 is really worth to use for a very long time.
Only need to follow the instruction carefully and it is ok.
May be u will get the problem with Wifi and GPS for first time, but they will be corrected soon.
Enjoy
ok couple vexing things happening here.
my device was using 90% memory no matter what I deleted. was running oem spl 1.1 and wm6 from HTC for a long time.
so after reading here, I upgraded to spl 1.2 and radio 1.58 with no problems THANKS XDA!
memory usage has gone way down. HOW can this BE? havent changed the WM6 just the radio and spl.
anyway the new issue is what ROM to choose! i do need pocket excel and word that comes with the wm6 on there now. but would also like faster performance if possible. does one rom run the athena faster than another?
so any input would be greatly appreciated.
oh also what is "AP4" and what is the advantages of SPL3.5 ? i wouldnt mind being able to partition the memory into one big section, since I run a 16GB mini sd card. is this possible?
sorry for the noob questions but everyone here was once a noob. everyone. lol
now... if this unit were only transflexive screen
I was never a noob. Seriously.
I suggest Michy's 4.1 for a solid and fast ROM. It also has some pre-installed software that activates the transflexive screen option.
1.2 and 3.5 are flavors of SPL. 3.5 basically gives more of your device's memory to the space where the ROM is. More space gives cooks more room to include more pre-installed software like that cool transflexive screen thing.
AP stands for Athena Project. In order to change from SPL 1.2 to 3.5 you should flash AP4. However, IMHO more recent ROMs like Michy's series have eclipsed AP4 in speed and features.
(Also, I advise you change your "16MB mini sd card" to a "16GB mini sd card" before people start pointing and laughing.)
a permanent non-noob, perfect person to be getting athena advice from!
transflexive is a hardware component, its the type of LCD that reflects but also has backlight. in the sunlight you can still easily see it because of the reflectivity, but at night, the backlight can shine through. you get viewability in both conditions with transflexive LCD technology. i have no idea why PDA's started moving away from having that.
anyway I looked at the ROM list for http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=397518 and could not find a "4.1" rom so i think you mean 6.1 under Michyprima looks like the third and fourth ones WM6.1 Diamond and Full versions. What is the difference between diamond and full editions? Or am I looking at the wrong ones.
as to the storage, I have SPL 1.2 and the program vs storage allocation doesnt seem any different, is there something I need to do?
thanks
Hello and welcome to our forum!
I would suggest to use the ROM on this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/announcement.php?f=380 for your answer to the 1st post. You could find in post 1 and 2 some really good proposals!
As for Michy 6.1 ROM that exists here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=411371 read at the 3rd post you will find a link for the 4.1 version of this ROM, which many believe it's the most stable!
Please be kind to the persons who try to help you...
first, im not sure why I need to be advised to be kind and appreciative, Im known to my friends as both.
I very much appreciate any help I receive, and am teriffically grateful for this site, the roms and mods which take so much time to develop, and for any advice generously given by others.
anyway, back to the topic at ahnd because I am starting to understand, but that only generates more things to ask and discuss.
I just flashed SPL 1.2 to my device. you mentioned flashing AP4 to get SPL3.5 (but that its not much needed now). I saw SPL, Radio, and the ROM (operating system) as three separate software installs. So I guess I will go back and see what "AP4" is, unless its a ROM that includes the SPL?
anyway can it please be explained what Michy 4.1 rom would benefit vs my current WM6 that i got from HTC last year for the 7500?
thanks to all!
AdvantageGuy said:
first, im not sure why I need to be advised to be kind and appreciative, Im known to my friends as both.
I very much appreciate any help I receive, and am teriffically grateful for this site, the roms and mods which take so much time to develop, and for any advice generously given by others.
anyway, back to the topic at ahnd because I am starting to understand, but that only generates more things to ask and discuss.
I just flashed SPL 1.2 to my device. you mentioned flashing AP4 to get SPL3.5 (but that its not much needed now). I saw SPL, Radio, and the ROM (operating system) as three separate software installs. So I guess I will go back and see what "AP4" is, unless its a ROM that includes the SPL?
anyway can it please be explained what Michy 4.1 rom would benefit vs my current WM6 that i got from HTC last year for the 7500?
thanks to all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes welcome,
Michy's 4.1 rom was one of those roms that everything worked well on, it had only a few tiny bugs in it, the same as a stock rom. On his SPL 3.5 4.1 rom, opera plays most flash web sites (youtube, Guba, ect) without any work. It also has many other programs that you wonder how you managed without on it. Your stock rom is just the basics, so you buy the other software!! If you do go go on to SPL 3.5, make sure you start with AP 4.0 as you were told first. then go on to another rom. If you wnt to go back to SPL 1.2 you MUST use the downgrade first. If you forget or try to short cut it will mess up your athena and you will hve to fix it. The best advice I can give you after years on this site is READ THE WIKI
Im not a noob now, but im still lerning. There are some very clever people on here.
Regards
Jay
Hi Jay, thanks man!
I will read the wiki now that Im at work I can do that.
Any chance you could post a link to that 4.1 rom though it's not in the ROM list post that i can find, and a search on "4.1" doesnt yield anything so a Link would be greatly appreciated and I'll load it right away.
Thanks again and yes I'll be getting into the WIKI now. I love the Athena, and cannot believe there really is nothing else with it's features that i can find. At least used ones are coming down in cost, in case I break or lose mine. I rely on it every day for my work and other things.
In fact I just ordered a Ram Mount for mounting it in the car.
The link you want is HERE, I know it says 6.1 but keep going down past all the screen shots and you will get to the links for all of Michy's roms till you see 4.1. try SPL 1.2 first and see if you like it. However if you do then I recomend SPL 3.5 version. They are all worth a try at some time, 6.1 is very swish
WIKI is ace! Its a bible of nearly all known problems you can get with the athena (go down through all the PDA's till you see the athena). Just watch out swapping SPL's, it tends to leave you without WiFi.
ok found it thank you. only now, link dont work!!! arghhhh
I'll try again later perhaps...
[4.1]
SPL1.2: http://www.tdgoodshosting.com/Athena...R4.1-MiChY.rar
caution
Trying that link again got my IE to open dozens of windows, I had to shut down no other method would get it to stop.
Wish that ROM was hosted on rapidshare instead!
And of course this one (different rom but I was willing to try it) was deleted on rapidshare due to no downloads for too long:
Download link SPL1.2: http://rapidshare.de/files/40006763/...MiChY.rar.html
idea: maybe this site could start hosting at least some of the more popular files?
Michy 4.1 link
This is a link to Michy 4.1 SPL 1.2 for you I just uploaded http://rapidshare.com/files/217508231/Athena_SPL1.2_WWE_WM6.1_R4.1-MiChY.zip.html
Jay
much obliged Jay. I did d/l a couple other roms to try sometime, but I'm glad to have this one as it was said to be most stable and as a bonus has tcmp ability for youtube and most flash content. thanks again we'll see how it goes...
responderman said:
This is a link to Michy 4.1 SPL 1.2 for you I just uploaded http://rapidshare.com/files/217508231/Athena_SPL1.2_WWE_WM6.1_R4.1-MiChY.zip.html
Jay
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used this one for months now but just swapped to the SPL 3.5 version and it seems to have the edge. try it for a week or so and see what you think.
I got the 4.1 n there now. like it! finally I have control over the device I paid so much for. and the advanced settings is awesom. so many simple things like now I can make the camera save to the sd card, and numerous other annoyances now gone.
couple issues though, first the voice control seems difficult. not as straight up as voice dial, and the recording process hesitates a lot, and the recorded command seems also to stutter. i'll keep playing with it tho.
i would like to have a battery indicator on the today screen. not sure if tahts possible or I just didnt find it yet.
youtube player finds videos with search, but they wont play, I get some kind of security cookie error.
flash content doesnt play, which it never did but not sure if this new cooked rom will let me get that to work (WHY wont adobe just release a player for WM?)
anyway I'm liking all these new features so thank you for the d/l and the others for the advice.
btw what specifically gives spl3.5 an edge?
Michy's 4.1 rom - where??
cash365 said:
Hello and welcome to our forum!
I would suggest to use the ROM on this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/announcement.php?f=380 for your answer to the 1st post. You could find in post 1 and 2 some really good proposals!
As for Michy 6.1 ROM that exists here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=411371 read at the 3rd post you will find a link for the 4.1 version of this ROM, which many believe it's the most stable!
Please be kind to the persons who try to help you...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
A number of you guys have mentioned Michy's 4.1 Rom but the link doesn't work. Can anybody please reupload this rom for SPL1.2 or provide a working link?
sorry guys, just read all the last page and found it, thanx
go back up 4 posts, jay kindly put a link to it, which I d/l ed and now familiarizing with....
AdvantageGuy said:
caution
Trying that link again got my IE to open dozens of windows, I had to shut down no other method would get it to stop.
Wish that ROM was hosted on rapidshare instead!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to mess with you about the transflective screen thing. I was just joking around.
I've got 4.1 kicking around here somewhere and will upload it to rapidshare asap. Here's the link.
http://rapidshare.com/files/217625607/Athena_SPL1.2_WWE_WM6.1_R4.1-MiChY__1_.zip.html
" It also has some pre-installed software that activates the transflexive screen option."
How can I get this app for another ROM.
thanks,
tovarish
tovarish said:
" It also has some pre-installed software that activates the transflexive screen option."
How can I get this app for another ROM.
thanks,
tovarish
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh no tovarish! You bit on the noob bait!
As the OP rightly commented, transflexive is a property of the screen hardware. No software can change the Athena's screen to transflexive.
Hey guys.
I dont have a clue on how to flash a phone or backup a rom from my phone. is anyone able to help me out.
All i ever see are download locations to roms but i never see any applications for flashing phones or backing up.
Basiclly im looking for a tutorial.
Wait is it even possible on the neon yet?
Thanks in advance.
All the downloads should normally include the two files required to flash: the ROM itself (.nbh file) and the exe to actually do it.
Before flashing you should make sure you have the latest version of HardSPL installed which should stop you bricking your phone if anything goes wrong (see this thread for info).
As far as WM6.5 on a Neon I've not seen any ROMs. The files have to be ported to the device and then cooked into a ROM using a kitchen - not sure what people are using but I've seen mention of using the Kaiser kitchen with Neon settings.
There's no single tutorial, it's a case of reading around the different threads and piecing the bits together. It's just that there seem to be fewer Neon's around so there's not much of a focus on development for them.
Oops the link was to a WinMo 6.1 ROM. The 6.5 ROM I was thinking of is actually for the TyTn. So... nope, no 6.5 for Neon.
I'm a noob as well, but flashing is really quite simple. Just install the Neon HardSPL (there's only one as well), update the radio if you want to, then flash the ROM. Everything's packaged in the downloads, just run the exe.
May want to check your link : )