[Q] Best Android build iyo? - HD2 Windows Mobile 6.5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi there,
Was a boring day at work today so I was lookign at installing Android onto my HD2, I checked out the Android Development forum and there are literally hundreds of builds for the HD2.
In your opinion and/or experience which is
- the best build
- easiest to install for a first time user
- won't kill my phone ;D
All help much appreciated

ben.marks said:
Hi there,
Was a boring day at work today so I was lookign at installing Android onto my HD2, I checked out the Android Development forum and there are literally hundreds of builds for the HD2.
In your opinion and/or experience which is
- the best build
- easiest to install for a first time user
- won't kill my phone ;D
All help much appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first one is an unanswerable question. You may as well just ask "which build do you use and why?" as that would get you more positive results.
The other two questions are easy. They're all exactly the same to install (you just copy a folder and run 2 exe files), and I've never heard of any of them killing a phone.
You don't get rid of Windows when you use Android, so your current setup can remain the same. When you reboot your phone, it goes back to Windows, so there's nothing to lose in trying multiple Android builds.
Incidentally, you need a radio that is 2.08 or greater, and it must be a 2.xx.50 radio, not a 2.xx.51 radio. If anyone tells you you need HSPL 2 or 3 then they're wrong. Ignore them. You only need that if you need to upgrade the radio with a custom one, but there's an official ROM with 2.15.50 included, so you can use that.
Just make sure to read the threads where you get the builds from and you'll be enjoying Android in no time.
Good luck mate

I think the CM6.1 builds (thats CyanogenMod 6.1, a special ROM for Android builds) are the fastest and easiest to use. In that respect I would recommend:
JDMS 1.6 (my current one) OR
HD2ONE
Just my opinion though!

Related

Clean, stock-like ROM

Hi guys,
I was wondering if anybody could recommend me a simple, clean stock-like custom ROM without unnecessary programs and things installed. The primary reason for me wanting to flash to a custom ROM is for the considerable performance gain I keep reading about.
I have an Australian-bought unbranded HTC Touch Pro (raph100).
Thanks in advance,
Tim
timolol said:
Hi guys,
I was wondering if anybody could recommend me a simple, clean stock-like custom ROM without unnecessary programs and things installed. The primary reason for me wanting to flash to a custom ROM is for the considerable performance gain I keep reading about.
I have an Australian-bought unbranded HTC Touch Pro (raph100).
Thanks in advance,
Tim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tim,
Since this will be closed very quickly by mods....read in this section for a lite roms...the cooks put in the heading if they make lite Roms. Click on the rom and read the first few pages and it will tell you what is included in it...some examples are Da G and NATF's. No one knows what "unnecessary programs and things installed" is because it is different for each person.
I would go with this one. Actually, I am. It has ZERO bloatware in it and is very fast.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=441109
I use the Optus stock ROM w/ 1.08.25.20M1 Radio. It's fantastic...
ROM link: http://210.64.124.194/download/RUU_...d_Raphael_CRC_52.33.25.17_1.02.25.19_Ship.exe
-Mc
Thanks for the suggestions guys. The Optus stock ROM is actually the one that came with my device originally since this is an Australian TP. If you don't think that any considerable performance gain can be had by installing a cooked ROM then I may as well stick with this. Thanks anyway
Tim
(PS. I'm new here, so I don't quite understand why this thread will be quickly closed by mods... sorry
You can flash any rom you want since most don't include a radio.
I use Da_G's Roms because they don't include ANYTHING. The ROM is a very basic WM6.1 rom with all of the latest drivers for the best performance. All programs outside of the standard windows apps are separate downloads which can be installed as you see fit.
This is nice because you get to see what a BASIC Windows Mobile environment is and what the phone runs like without all the extra HTC extras. It also gives a very good starting point to customize the phone the way YOU want.
The good thing is that because YOU install all the extras manually... you can also uninstall them in the event a newer version comes out.
There are other good ROMs too... but most come with a "standard" set of programs, most of which I don't ever use or want. I like Da_G's because I can be in control of what is on my phone.
My 2 cents.
timolol said:
(PS. I'm new here, so I don't quite understand why this thread will be quickly closed by mods... sorry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so? new or not, it would make sense to read the wiki first. i think they even put sometihng in to tell u to read the wiki after signing up (though i'm not 100% about that), but either way, you should try doign some reading before posting. it can seem liek a lot to read, but if u want to make improvements to ur phoen, then take some time to invest in it.

What is the best ROM and why?

Hello everyone,
most recently I have updated my Hero to the new ROM supplied by the fellows at HTC (the 2.73... I think). Then I remembered that on my HTC S710 I used to have a rom that came from here. So, I took a look. I have a couple of questions. Oh, let me also tell you that I have rooted my phone (I think, with Instant Root).
So these are my questions:
What do you think is the best rom available?
And why? What are its advantages to a 'normal' HTC Rom?
As a beginner, I can look over this forum for hours (I did!) but still miss out on this answer!
there is no answer to this question, that's why.
It's like asking which is better, up or down?
Everyone will prefer a different ROM for different reasons. get your device flashed to the new recovery image and then you can try all the ROMS and decide for yourself what the 'best' one is.
Personally i stick with the generic ROMs and haven't used the modaco custom ROMs yet as i am happy with the way the device works and not in need of all the hacks that other people want as i rarely use them.
you may be different.
try them all and decide for yourself.
Hm. Yes, I like the way you are thinking - and heck, it is the second time you've given me a great reply! I'll go out and tinker with the world, and more specific: with ROMs! Although I have no idea what flashing my device to a new recovery image means, I do remember having to do something similar with my S710. And I am sure I will find an explanation here! Who knows, pherhaps in a short while, I will answer my own questions!
There aren't many customised ROMs for the Hero yet, partly because the source code isn't available yet from HTC, so the ones that do exist are based on versions of the HTC ROMs.
Use Flashrec and install the awesome modified cyanogen recovery image, then you can flash one of the ROMs. I chose the stock UK ROM pre-rooted, from MoDaCo's site (not the MoDaCo customised ROM though).
It's convenient because it is pretty much the stock experience, except it's pre-rooted which makes some other things possible.
dekraan said:
Hm. Yes, I like the way you are thinking - and heck, it is the second time you've given me a great reply! I'll go out and tinker with the world, and more specific: with ROMs! Although I have no idea what flashing my device to a new recovery image means, I do remember having to do something similar with my S710. And I am sure I will find an explanation here! Who knows, pherhaps in a short while, I will answer my own questions!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I upgraded from a S710 to a Hero as well. I'm very happy with having done that as the Hero is such a better phone!
Anyway. Flashing a new recovery image is one one of these 'tinkering' things you/we have to get used to when playing with ROMs. Essentially the recovery image is a very basic control on the phone that you can reboot into, from where you can update the ROM or do total system backups. You can read about how to do this in MoDaCo's custom ROM thread in the android development section. Flashing a new recovery image and new ROM isn't too hard really; took me at most a couple of hours.

Stupid noob needs help

Hey guys !
I've been around here for many years but have allways been using Windows Mobile phones. I've had a Hero for about a year and i must say that i am very pleased with it. It works so damn good ! I've been flashing roms on windows mobile phones and even created roms my self.
However this Android / Linux world is so new to me that i have no idea what i need to do in order to simply flash a rom on my Hero!
What i get is that i need to root my device. There are some few guides for this in the wiki but i still do not know if my Hero is a Virgin og a Telus. How can i see this?
Also i see a lot of Linux based talk and commands (i presume) that i do not understand anything of. Do we have any desciption of the most common used commands and such stuff so new people like me can get a better understanding of what you guys are actually talking about?
When i learn all this i will edit the wiki with the information. And as i am new it is easier for me to fill in what is missing if you understand
.. And yes i have searched!
Da9L said:
Hey guys !
I've been around here for many years but have allways been using Windows Mobile phones. I've had a Hero for about a year and i must say that i am very pleased with it. It works so damn good ! I've been flashing roms on windows mobile phones and even created roms my self.
However this Android / Linux world is so new to me that i have no idea what i need to do in order to simply flash a rom on my Hero!
What i get is that i need to root my device. There are some few guides for this in the wiki but i still do not know if my Hero is a Virgin og a Telus. How can i see this?
Also i see a lot of Linux based talk and commands (i presume) that i do not understand anything of. Do we have any desciption of the most common used commands and such stuff so new people like me can get a better understanding of what you guys are actually talking about?
When i learn all this i will edit the wiki with the information. And as i am new it is easier for me to fill in what is missing if you understand
.. And yes i have searched!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theunlockr.com is an excellent source of information on rooting/flashing your Hero.
nprussell said:
Theunlockr.com is an excellent source of information on rooting/flashing your Hero.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seconded.
And when you're unlocked, check out Villain and Vanillain ROM's (check out previous post), definitely two of the best
if you want to know if your phone is rooted download and install "Super user" and run it,you will then know if your phone is rooted or not.
I,like you,was a WM user and found android to be more complicated,but in fact it´s not...once you root your phone and install Amon-RA recovery ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4549551&postcount=1 ) its much easier and simple to do things.
theres a sticky in this sub-forum with wiki-guides,read it!
Branwen said:
Seconded.
And when you're unlocked, check out Villain and Vanillain ROM's (check out previous post), definitely two of the best
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True used a lot those roms.
Waiting patiently for a Vanillain rom based in eris dump.
Right now im still using AychTeeSee's just to be able to use the Buuf Theme
I'm in the exact same situation as Da9L . Could you please let me know if flashing a new ROM will also change the Firmware version?
Currently my firmware is 1.5. I've seen on a friend's G1 the voice search widget and I'm dying to get that on my device. From what I've been told, i need to get a newer firmware, but I've got no idea on how to do this.
Any help would be appreciated ^_^
Some questions:
So the short line of the process of flashing a custom rom is when using unbranded htc hero:
1. Downgrade my software to 1.76, as iam using the newest
2. Root the device acording to _this_ guide
3. Perform a backup
4. Flash the custom rom as i flash a stock rom?
Is that it? It leads me to some more questions
What is this "recovery image" and is there any reason to flash a new one?
And why is there any reason to change this at all ?
How do i get danish xt9 for sms?
And please i have a feeling that i am getting this wrong.. Can you please explain to me the procedure of doing all this ?
Is there any benefit by flashing a rom?
I mean the stock rom actually runs pretty good and is stable. A custom rom is likely to be a little more unstable than a stock rom, but often give you more speed and newer features. This is when we are talking Windows Mobile, but is it the same here? What are the pros and cons by flashing a custom rom over the stock rom?
Da9L said:
Is there any benefit by flashing a rom?
I mean the stock rom actually runs pretty good and is stable. A custom rom is likely to be a little more unstable than a stock rom, but often give you more speed and newer features. This is when we are talking Windows Mobile, but is it the same here? What are the pros and cons by flashing a custom rom over the stock rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It varies depending on the ROM tbh. It's a bit like the high-tech version of 'how long's a piece of string'?
Really, you're likely to get improved performance, root permissions, user interface tweaks, different versions of applications that are better than the default ones, maybe a custom kernel (if it's a 1.5 release you're looking at).
The custom kernels can have better performance due to optimisations in them. Not sure how much of this is like winmo (never had a winmo phone, all I know is that you are able to install alternative ROMs on them), but with android the core OS is open source, so you get more performance boosts under the hood.
Anyone able to add to that?
anon2122 said:
It varies depending on the ROM tbh. It's a bit like the high-tech version of 'how long's a piece of string'?
Really, you're likely to get improved performance, root permissions, user interface tweaks, different versions of applications that are better than the default ones, maybe a custom kernel (if it's a 1.5 release you're looking at).
The custom kernels can have better performance due to optimisations in them. Not sure how much of this is like winmo (never had a winmo phone, all I know is that you are able to install alternative ROMs on them), but with android the core OS is open source, so you get more performance boosts under the hood.
Anyone able to add to that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds great. However, since this is so new to me i do not know what new tweaks and apps i will be able to use and get if you follow me? When i have flashed a new custom rom, propably android 2.1, i do not know what new things it has and therefore where and how to use these new functions. And does the real advantage in a custom rom also get to a normal user or is the advantages more directed at the developers or?

noob questions (upgrading)

Hi, I've done tons of Windows mobile upgrades in the past but despite reading through the posts on here, I'm still stuck.
1) I have a HTC Hero (UK Vodafone with the original rom) and want to upgrade to 2.1 in the quickest / smoothest way
2) I'm not bothered about keeping anything at all on the phone
3) Can I use one of official HTC 2.1 roms? If so, will that be easier? i.e. will I need 'rooted' ROMS etc?
Many thanks
vicious6969 said:
Hi, I've done tons of Windows mobile upgrades in the past but despite reading through the posts on here, I'm still stuck.
1) I have a HTC Hero (UK Vodafone with the original rom) and want to upgrade to 2.1 in the quickest / smoothest way
2) I'm not bothered about keeping anything at all on the phone
3) Can I use one of official HTC 2.1 roms? If so, will that be easier? i.e. will I need 'rooted' ROMS etc?
Many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are remotely interested in rooting or using custom software, then DON'T TOUCH OFFICIAL UPDATES. If you install an official HTC update, you won't be able to root again.
TBH, you are better installing a rooted custom ROM. If you choose to go down this route, you have come to the right place.
In terms of ROMs which are very close to the official HTC update (ie. have HTC Sense), take a look at (in no particular order, all are pretty similar)
VillainROM 10.2
Cronos 1.x (can't remember what is latest version)
42Turkey's ROM
Modaco Custom ROM 4.0
etc.
or just browse round the site till something takes your fancy.
Thread moved to Q&A.
and use BTDAG's guide linked in my signature for step by step instructions on how to do it.
Many thanks for all your help.
I followed it to the letter (using gold card method)
and it worked a treat.
Used Villain Rom in the end.
I've flashed loads of windows mobiles and iphones before but never an android device. This was my boss's phone so was a bit nervous.
It's certainly more complicated than flashing windows or iphones but just as satisfying!
Cheers
Now you'v done the hard leg work it'l be much easier for your boss from now on.

BUILD Question

Okay I have searched, looked at videos, commented some topics but still I have not found my answer.
If I was to download this Android Build: (Ex. [BUILD]15.09.10|mdeejay Froyo Sense v. 2.1) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=780525
or
[BUILD] [18.08.2010] [darkstone HD2Froyo V2.1 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=735532
Do I need to download anything else other than what's already included in the Android Build? I keep hearing about this radio rom, Cooked rom, etc.
Do I need that stuff?
Thank you very much.
They are READY-TO-USE BUILD....
I am no expert but this is my understanding, most importantly Android causes problems somehow with the stock ROM on you HD2 so you will want to put a custom WinMo ROM onto the phone before you try using Android. In order for you to flash to a different WinMo rom you will need to follow the va0rious steps there too, there are a lot of great guides on the forums but during that process you make your phone able to take major changes (like ROM and Radios).
All the guides include steps on how to change your Radio as well as the ROM, I know there is at least one stickied in the ROM discussion forum (not Android ROM). The builder of the Android you choose will invariably offer suggestions as to what ROM they use for WinMo and what Radio they have had the best results with. That is what I think you are talking about as far as Radio in relation to Android. Like WinMo different Radios are more or less effective, and even more so than WinMo they can cause major havoc if you disregard the instructions about what Radio you should use (I know of some that will apparently brick the phone)
I am sure someone that knows more than me will answer sooner or later but hope that helps
1. Install HSPL if you are still on Stock ROM
2. Install Android Compatible WM ROM from this forum (ChuckyDroid,OzDroid,VBNROM)
3. Install Radio >= 2.08.50.xx (Dont install .51 Radio)
4. Install Android build of your choice as instructions in respective threads
For all the above, search using keywords HSPL, etc and you will reach gold.
PS : I am not responsible for you bricking the device. If you are hesitant, dont do it !

Categories

Resources