[Q] ruu? or just baseband upgrade with hboot change? - HTC EVO 3D

ooooook...this'll either get me killed or contented.
here goes.
the first part of this i basically stole from sullivan's post over at mik's.
there was no answer to his question...
there are too many guides, tutorials and suggested methods that I can't chose the right one to narrow it down...
i'm asking the same manner of question...
<<<<<
EVO 3d
sprint
-Revolutionary-
SHOOTER XC SHIP S-OFF RL
HBOOT 1.40.1100
RADIO-1.06.00.1216
eMMC-boot
Jun 8 2011,17:20:22
hardware 002
running smooth criminal (chose a random sense rom to update pri.prl)
kernel version is 3.0.50-ck1 butteredtoast ics rls 12.2+
Build # is 2.89.651.2 CL409645 release-keys
PRI Version 1.42_003
PRL Version 21090
i used htc unlock and closeone's toolkit.
was using mikvirgin for a while. vm leak without problems. couldn't update pri.prl
changed a few things here and there...then, i started having heat and drain issues. notably from browsing and swype beta.
figured it was time for a clean slate and new rom.
From what I've gathered I need an ics hboot, ie, 1.58 in order to run ics kernels the right way??
What should i do to be current??
start by updating my radio. (where's the latest file?)
should i upgrade hboot? 1.58?
Do I need to relock, ruu, then unlock again? (what method is most recent and where)
i thought i read that i can just change my hboot on its own and then also bootload the latest radio?
ideally, i'd love to be able to run a few aosp jb roms...cm 10...as well as any ics roms without issue.
also, is the deal with ext3 versus ext4 still the same? ext4 can't run sense roms...or, was that only for the evo4g?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
advice would be considered a thankable and appreciated offense!
many, many thanks, everyone.
i need to head to bed.
clear my brain a bit.
between ramjet's and mpgrimm2's threads...i'm going into overload.
but, thanks. seriously. you guys rock.
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what? you think just cause a guy reads comics he can't kick some a$$?

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I would relock the bootloader and run the Sprint ICS ruu.exe. This will update you to the latest firmware, radio, hboot, etc, but you'll still be s-off. Then downgrade your hboot to 1.4 or 1.04 and install a custom recovery like 4ext. You should then be ready to install a custom Rom.

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coal686 said:
I would relock the bootloader and run the Sprint ICS ruu.exe. This will update you to the latest firmware, radio, hboot, etc, but you'll still be s-off. Then downgrade your hboot to 1.4 or 1.04 and install a custom recovery like 4ext. You should then be ready to install a custom Rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm thinking running the ruu might be the way to go, too.
(if anyone would like to point me in the direction of the latest ruu "how-to" thread...much appreciated)
however, i'm not quite sold on the idea of downgrading hboot back to what i have (or, another 1.4 variation).
as per ramjet's thread on the subject...even the most flexible hboot "eng hboot" has issues with compatibility running 2.89 based kernels.
the ones that run ics and above are the 1.58 hboots and it's variables.
so, anyone have ideas as to what my specs should be to successfully run a cm 10 based rom and kernel successfully?
not to mention that i'd like to continue to swap into a sense based rom every now and again.
that leads me back to the ext3 vs ext4 question.
is ext4 still not a viable ext for sense based roms or was that only for the evo 4g?
thanks again, coal!

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cipher77 said:
i'm thinking running the ruu might be the way to go, too.
(if anyone would like to point me in the direction of the latest ruu "how-to" thread...much appreciated)
however, i'm not quite sold on the idea of downgrading hboot back to what i have (or, another 1.4 variation).
as per ramjet's thread on the subject...even the most flexible hboot "eng hboot" has issues with compatibility running 2.89 based kernels.
the ones that run ics and above are the 1.58 hboots and it's variables.
so, anyone have ideas as to what my specs should be to successfully run a cm 10 based rom and kernel successfully?
not to mention that i'd like to continue to swap into a sense based rom every now and again.
that leads me back to the ext3 vs ext4 question.
is ext4 still not a viable ext for sense based roms or was that only for the evo 4g?
thanks again, coal!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This post was for a user in a situation similar to yours. It's basically what coal suggested and you can use my guide through Step2, but there is no need to relock the bootloader since you are S-OFF.
If your case, you might want to flash the ENG or JBear 1.50.5050 bootloader after running the RUU.exe since both of those will flash and run GB, ICS and JB ROM's except for a few Sense ROM's that require the stock 1.58 or JBear 1.58.5858 bootloader.
As far as EXT3 versus EXT4 goes, most current Sense and AOSP ROM's support both, but I usually just "format all partitions except SD card" in 4EXT recovery before flashing a ROM and let it default to that (EXT4) or whatever format the dev configured for the ROM. I just checked the nandroids on my SD card and they are all in the EXT4 format.
ramjet73

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IMO, you should just update your radio (if you can find the latest PG86IMG.zip) or get the one from virus's thread which contains the latest hboot too. Then to install CM10 ROM downgrade back to eng hboot or 1.4 you should be able to run CM10 ROMs just fine. And if you want sense 3.6 ROM, you can try smoothcriminal ROM after updating your radio. It works with all hboots.

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RUU vs OTA vs firmware zip file
mnomaanw said:
IMO, you should just update your radio (if you can find the latest PG86IMG.zip) or get the one from virus's thread which contains the latest hboot too. Then to install CM10 ROM downgrade back to eng hboot or 1.4 you should be able to run CM10 ROMs just fine. And if you want sense 3.6 ROM, you can try smoothcriminal ROM after updating your radio. It works with all hboots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's some good information about flashing an RUU versus taking an OTA in this thread on the HTC Desire forum, and flashing the firmware zip updates even less than taking the OTA. I've attached screen shots of the contents of virus's firmware zip file versus the RUU rom.zip file from the same build (Sprint ICS 2.89.651.2). As you can see, even discounting the boot, system, and data partitions, there's more that gets updated with the RUU than what's contained in the firmware .zip, which is why I recommend starting with an RUU flash (.exe or .zip) when upgrading to a new build.
ramjet73

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ramjet73 said:
There's some good information about flashing an RUU versus taking an OTA in this thread on the HTC Desire forum, and flashing the firmware zip updates even less than taking the OTA. I've attached screen shots of the contents of virus's firmware zip file versus the RUU rom.zip file from the same build (Sprint ICS 2.89.651.2). As you can see, even discounting the boot, system, and data partitions, there's more that gets updated with the RUU than what's contained in the firmware .zip, which is why I recommend starting with an RUU flash (.exe or .zip) when upgrading to a new build.
ramjet73
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although mnomaanw makes a great point, I agree with ramjet on this one. My phone recently decided not to let me install ANY CM, GB, or JB based ROMs. The only ones that would successfully boot were Sense 3.6 and 4.0 based ICS ROMs. The rest would show my splash screen and then the phone would bootloop before even the boot ani showed. I tried to flash different radios, hboots, firmware, etc to no avail. Finally, I ran the ruu.exe, downgraded my hboot to 1.4 Revolutionary to try the MIUI ROM everyone is raving about and installed 4ext custom recovery. Everything is running great now.
I can confirm that it does more than just the firmware zip updates as it wiped my custom splash screen I had installed. Going through the hassle of running the ruu is worth it if you want to be sure that everything is completely updated properly.

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ramjet73 said:
This post was for a user in a situation similar to yours. It's basically what coal suggested and you can use my guide through Step2, but there is no need to relock the bootloader since you are S-OFF.
If your case, you might want to flash the ENG or JBear 1.50.5050 bootloader after running the RUU.exe since both of those will flash and run GB, ICS and JB ROM's except for a few Sense ROM's that require the stock 1.58 or JBear 1.58.5858 bootloader.
As far as EXT3 versus EXT4 goes, most current Sense and AOSP ROM's support both, but I usually just "format all partitions except SD card" in 4EXT recovery before flashing a ROM and let it default to that (EXT4) or whatever format the dev configured for the ROM. I just checked the nandroids on my SD card and they are all in the EXT4 format.
ramjet73
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first off...
huge, huge thanks for the responses, guys.
so, yeah...i've actually been using 4ext as my recovery for a while now. i have to say...it's quite good.
however, i always have wondered what the deal was with ext3 vs ext4. clearing that up more definitively than what i've been able to find on my own, as well as my own experiences, is great.
sounds like i'll be running the ruu executable.
just to confirm...already being s-off means that i don't have to relock my bootloader, yeah?
excellent. one less step.
as for the hboot...this seems to be where it gets tricky.
ramjet...you suggested downgrading hboot after the ruu flash to ENG or 1.50.5050.
i'm definitely dumb to NOT take your advice...so, i will. more than likely the 1.50.5050 hboot. seems to be more likely to play well with 2.89 kernels. otherwise, i'd do the ENG hboot.
from your thread, you mention that the only ones that DO run 2.89 based kernels are stock (1.58) and jbear's (1.58.5858).
do you think ENG hboot will be pliable enough at any point to be compatible with them? THAT would be pretty great.
thanks again, gang.
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what? you think just cause a guy reads comics he can't kick some a$$?

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cipher77 said:
ramjet...you suggested downgrading hboot after the ruu flash to ENG or 1.50.5050.
i'm definitely dumb to NOT take your advice...so, i will. more than likely the 1.50.5050 hboot. seems to be more likely to play well with 2.89 kernels. otherwise, i'd do the ENG hboot.
from your thread, you mention that the only ones that DO run 2.89 based kernels are stock (1.58) and jbear's (1.58.5858).
do you think ENG hboot will be pliable enough at any point to be compatible with them? THAT would be pretty great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, there is no hboot that will run all Evo 3D CDMA ROM's but there are only three ROM's that I know require 1.58 or JBear 1.58.5858 at this time and that's the Sprint ICS stock ROM, Cool ICS and Viper3D. Some ROM developers have incorporated the "VM leak" kernel in place of the stock Sprint ICS 2.89(.651.2) kernel just to avoid that requirement. The reason I'm recommending JBear GB (1.50.5050) or the engineering (ENG-1.04) bootloader at this point is that there are far more ROM's that can be flashed and run with those than the 1.58.x versions, and they both support the fastboot commands that would normally require an unlocked bootloader.
ramjet73

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ramjet73 said:
Unfortunately, there is no hboot that will run all Evo 3D CDMA ROM's but there are only three ROM's that I know require 1.58 or JBear 1.58.5858 at this time and that's the Sprint ICS stock ROM, Cool ICS and Viper3D. Some ROM developers have incorporated the "VM leak" kernel in place of the stock Sprint ICS 2.89(.651.2) kernel just to avoid that requirement. The reason I'm recommending JBear GB (1.50.5050) or the engineering (ENG-1.04) bootloader at this point is that there are far more ROM's that can be flashed and run with those than the 1.58.x versions, and they both support the fastboot commands that would normally require an unlocked bootloader.
ramjet73
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gotcha.
makes sense that devs would swap out the vm leak just to avoid the hassle.
thanks for the info, btw.
about to flash the ruu from your qaderso zip.
not having to relock before doing the flash is nice.
thanks again for all of your help.
i'll report back with success...or, hang ups.

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update...
just wanted to check in.
i went ahead and ran the ruu.exe without any issues.
since i was already s-off and unlocked via htc...i didn't bother relocking.
once the ruu did its thing it changed the hboot to stock and the previous REVOLUTIONARY in the bootloader header disappeared and it just read UNLOCKED.
not sure if this was right...but, i didn't have to unlock again.
i stayed s-off AND unlocked after the ruu.
i re-ran the ruu later in the day since staying s-off and unlocked didn't sit well with me after the intial run. but, the result was the same.
so, i'm all good, i suppose.
any takers?
installed SU, reinstalled 4ext (had been using it successfully for a while now. great recovery.) and busybox.
then, something strange happened.
rather, something i didn't expect.
after changing the hboot to 1.50.5050 via bootloader...
as instructed...i powered down.
extracted the zip from the root so i wouldn't be in a bootloop.
but, it still wouldn't load the stock rom.
is that weird? or, expected?
i actually had to reinstall via recovery another sense rom.
otherwise, i think everything's going well.
waiting to get some time to flash a cm10 rom at this point.
unless someone thinks otherwise!
thanks again...

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cipher77 said:
then, something strange happened.
rather, something i didn't expect.
after changing the hboot to 1.50.5050 via bootloader...
as instructed...i powered down.
extracted the zip from the root so i wouldn't be in a bootloop.
but, it still wouldn't load the stock rom.
is that weird? or, expected?
i actually had to reinstall via recovery another sense rom.
otherwise, i think everything's going well.
waiting to get some time to flash a cm10 rom at this point.
unless someone thinks otherwise!
thanks again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's normal. As a reminder, I'll quote from a post I made earlier in this thread:
ramjet73 said:
Unfortunately, there is no hboot that will run all Evo 3D CDMA ROM's but there are only three ROM's that I know require 1.58 or JBear 1.58.5858 at this time and that's the Sprint ICS stock ROM, Cool ICS and Viper3D.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock 2.89.651.2 ROM is in fact one of the few that currently require the 1.58 bootloader. That's why my guide recommends installing the JBear 1.58.5858 bootloader by default since the RUU installs the stock ICS ROM.
Also, the reason your bootloader shows unlocked is probably because you htcdev unlocked it before doing the hboot 1.4 downgrade for S-OFF. I've never done that method myself, but in discussing it with mpgrimm2, apparently the downgrade method doesn't reset the bootloader status to locked like the JupunutBear (wire trick) method does.
ramjet73

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ramjet73 said:
That's normal. As a reminder, I'll quote from a post I made earlier in this thread:
The stock 2.89.651.2 ROM is in fact one of the few that currently require the 1.58 bootloader. That's why my guide recommends installing the JBear 1.58.5858 bootloader by default since the RUU installs the stock ICS ROM.
Also, the reason your bootloader shows unlocked is probably because you htcdev unlocked it before doing the hboot 1.4 downgrade for S-OFF. I've never done that method myself, but in discussing it with mpgrimm2, apparently the downgrade method doesn't reset the bootloader status to locked like the JupunutBear (wire trick) method does.
ramjet73
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RE: hboot bootloop...doy! consider me FACEPALMED.
maybe, RAM-PALMED!
hell, i probably read over that line twenty times and never really READ it.
so, thanks again.
either way, since not many will stay on stock soft or stock hboot...i suppose it's not really an issue.
change hboot and change rom.
but, it did give me a scare for a minute.
as for the lock versus unlock...your guess is as good as, if not infinitely better, than mine.
everything definitely works, tho.
appreciate you seeing this through and checking in on me, btw.