Database Users

rom flash crash

hi folks tried to update special rom and upon where the XDa comes up with upgrading takes 5mins the software crashed out telling me to remove from cradle and do soft reset well did all that but cant get active sync to recongnise the XDA and the XDA is still on that upgraing 5 minute screen HELP

If it will not resume when you restart the upgrade program on the PC, then it's time to upgrade via the bootloader method. You need (access to)an SD-card reader/writer for the PC, and to read around on this forum a bit.

thanxs I guess thats the conclusion I came to however just to make sure do u know the steps involved in installing the special rom I have the download exe file someones put on the forum

****. I cooked a second ROM (based on testing the first one - and removing utils I didn't need)
Flashing started - but this time, ActiveSync dropped out and I was left with the 5 minutes screen.
I have tried hard reset but only the "upgrading' screen appears. Now I'm wishing I had never messed with it.
I can get the Wallaby Boot loader screen to come up (GSM OK) it says.
But I have no clue about this other "bootloader" method mentioned on this page. Can anyone please advise where can I find details of the fix? Is the ROM really wiped out and no longer recoverable?

I have the same problem as the first person who posted.

Then you will need to restore the OS using an SD card. (Min 64mb).
Probably easiest to cook a ROM at Jeffs Kitchen to your taste:
http://cuba.calyx.nl/~jsummers/ROMkitchen/
Save it as .nb1 type (bottom of that page).
Then get XDA Tools (yes I know its starting to sound complicated but its not really). http://xda-developers.com/XDAtools/
That program allows you to copy the .nb1 file you cooked to be loaded onto the SD card.
Once you have transferred the OS (.nb1) file to the SD, stick it in your XDA.
Turn on the XDA pressing simultaneously the on switch and sticking the stylus in the SOFT reset hole.
You should get a white screen saying something like flash ROM from SD. Press the JOG (navigator) big switch at the bottom to start the process.
Make sure you have mains power to XDA during this process.
When it finishes, REMOVE the SD card and press HARD reset.
Should be back to normal!

p.s. It goes without saying that you need an SD card reader !!
p.p.s I hope yours is better than mine. Try to get the latest version with drivers that can deal with big SD card sizes...

It does not say hard reset it say cold reboot to reset. So I did a soft reset and it worked after about 7 tries.
I really like what they did with this ROM Kitchen. I would think that if they can get this really stable then they should offer a service to create your own ROM's allowing the user to select what programs they want to include in the ROM.

Er, if you read other areas on this site you will notice that this is run by enthusiasts, who are making their work available to others.
So a little please and thank you will ease your way.
Rather than... "they should" maybe "it would be nice if...."
:idea: If you really want to DIY - then follow all the instructions, get yourself a Unix platform and MKROM.
Bye
ps sorry I got one detail wrong.
pps Sorry I bothered actually

Ariel said:
Er, if you read other areas on this site you will notice that this is run by enthusiasts, who are making their work available to others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe me as the owner of www.pocketpcminds.com I understand this. Back in the days of carrying a Palm OS device there a program that allowed you to add and delete things in your ROM.
What I was suggestion is a service that users could pay for that would inlude a list of Pocket PC programs that the users could choose what programs they want loaded in the ROM. From what I have seen of Pocket PC users each person has a list of programs that they find useful and use regularly.
I onlt suggest this because the people running this need to cover thier cost. Otherwise they may use intrest and stop it all together.

We're all too busy with other things to turn the ROMkitchen into a commercial thing. But if anyone else wants to do so, please contact us.
Pro:
- It would be a great sales platform for software (spb gprs monitor, PIMs, etc.)
Con:
- Available space shrinks as OS grows
- No idea how this works out on XDA II yet

Can't burn the Wallaby Patch to the SD
When I try to burn Wallaby Patch to SD the following error appears
Failed to open device \\.\PhysicalDrive8
Anyone help with this.

hi I did all that but when the XDA is being flashed it finishes but comes with achecksum error now I know I am doing everything right as I managed to reload O2 original .nb1 file and my xda is still as was however I want the forums version rom so can unlock many thanx for the previous how 2 instructions

SD card flash - 5 min screen
Ariel said:
Then you will need to restore the OS using an SD card. (Min 64mb).
Probably easiest to cook a ROM at Jeffs Kitchen to your taste:
http://cuba.calyx.nl/~jsummers/ROMkitchen/
Save it as .nb1 type (bottom of that page).
Then get XDA Tools (yes I know its starting to sound complicated but its not really). http://xda-developers.com/XDAtools/
That program allows you to copy the .nb1 file you cooked to be loaded onto the SD card.
Once you have transferred the OS (.nb1) file to the SD, stick it in your XDA.
Turn on the XDA pressing simultaneously the on switch and sticking the stylus in the SOFT reset hole.
You should get a white screen saying something like flash ROM from SD. Press the JOG (navigator) big switch at the bottom to start the process.
Make sure you have mains power to XDA during this process.
When it finishes, REMOVE the SD card and press HARD reset.
Should be back to normal!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a similar 5 min screen, and I tried as told, that is bought a card reader, cooked ROM, downloaded and transferred the nk.nb1 file to sd card using xda-tools, and entered into bootloader. But all I get is WAIT and then GSM OK message. Not the one that gives me option of flashing the ROM. How exactly to transfer the ROM image to SD card?

Rom Flash Crash
Just in case
I found that getting the XDA going initially by putting across the O2 installer programmeA onto the SD card rebootting with soft reset which installs the standard O2 locked phone system however this allows your XDA to be seen by the PC
all I did then was using the Kitchen Rom is double clicked it then goes into install mode through Programme A and does a PC to phone install.
I found I reinstalled twice and the phone now is working unlocked as required
I tried many times to do the soft reset install as instructed on the forum but it just crashed everytime

I guess the WBL version 5.15 does not identify nk.nb1 file as a rom image. it needs the rom image in raw form, the same as it is copied by bootloader that is WinCE to SD. I think the old XDArit writes it in the required format. dont know how the XDA-Tools does it.

ROM flash crash - solved!
It finally worked. With help from ntabikha, a member of this forum, I got it going. I plugged it in the cradle after hard reset. Activesync kept announcing that it can not connect to the device, and I kept clicking "Retry" (perhaps "disconnect com port" might as well have been all right, but I didn't do it. I thought it might disconnect the com port and stop the Program A from connecting to the device).
I then ran the Original Qtek Upgrade installer, and it did not connect on the first attempt. But it asked me to soft reset the device and run the program again. I did so, and whoa! it worked! It worked great! However, I don't understand why the cooked version 3.17 from Jeff's kitchen was installed instead of Qtek Upgrade Version 3.16.52. I care the least though, since I now have a working xda! Thanks to the guidance from ntabikha.

ROMkitchen are out of date..... Who wants to change????

Hello XDA users....
I think you know it all, that the ROMkitchen is a fine application to get our device nearly perfect.
But the ROMkitchen is out of date. This means many applications aren´t not in the actual version. Therefore Auburnham and I thought to update the applications.
The problem is, that the amount of added applications to the kitchen is to big to make this happen by us two. Because of this problem I´m searching for some people, which wants to help.
Another problem is, that you need for this a device that haven´t got installed that piece of software. This means that when you want to help me with Phonext for example, you must have a device without any version of Phonext installed.
So, if you are going to help me make a snapshot of your device with the ssnap - Application.
Install the software.
Make again an Snapshot of your device with the ssnap - Application.
Send these two files to [email protected] with inforamtion about the program you have installed and the exact Version you have installed.
When I´ve got analyzed the two files i will reply to you with a wishlist of files that have been created on your device. After sending me the files, i can update the kitchen....
IF there are any quesions or anything else, feel free to contact me....
Regards
Stefan

Good Idea :

I'd be happy to contribute.
Tell me which application you want me to install and I'll do it provided that I find the procedure (that I've seen being posted elsewere in this forum).
NB : I'm using XDA I with a Frenchy 3.16 and be stuck with it :evil: ; so there is no chance for me to re-build a new a geniun 3.16 Rom again.

My XDA is all up and running.
I've overcome my Language FRA error message after purchasing a SD card reader and loading the ROM through the bootloader. 8)
Now, I'm about to install ttn 3 on my XDA. Do you want list it in your kitchen ?
What do you need exactly ?

I would be happpy to help. I am a regular user of your site and appreciate the effort that has been put into it.
I understand the effort needed to keep things working and up to date.
Pierre

I'm in!!
Just let me know what you need and when and I will maker every endevour to help.
Thanks for all you do
macudc

Check out
http://lumpistefan.dyndns.org/update.html
Select and download the programs you want to take and send an email to me, that i can remove the files.
Follow the instructions.
If there are any questions ----> Email me....
Thx for Helping.
Stefan

Tanguy said:
Now, I'm about to install ttn 3 on my XDA. Do you want list it in your kitchen ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tomtom wouldn´t fit in the free space. Already didn´t work for TomTom 2.
Maybe i can include the Gps part....
Stefan

LumpiStefan,
OK on the priniple for GPS. How to best handeled tha case of a sotfware GPS 3.0 on (CD's) that has an upgrade GPS 3.03 to be dowloaded from the web site.
Does the snapshot comes at the end of the 2nd install ?
Tanguy

Howdy all,
I just noticed we had a thread started on this project. I've been working on updates over the weekend and noticed there have already been quite a few. So here are my contributions, including updates and additions:
Upgrades:
Converter CE 1.8c
StorageTools 1.9
PocketNav 2.73 (no snapshot necessary, executable only)
EzWAP 2.5
Polyphonic Ringtone Support (no snapshot necessary, additional files for \Windows directory only)
New Addtions:
Resco File Explorer 2003 * http://www.resco-net.com/explorer.asp
Resco Picture Viewer 4.11 * http://www.resco-net.com/picview.asp
Pocket Player 2.5 * http://www.conduits.com/ce/player/default.asp
Pocket Music 3.0 * http://www.pocketmind.com/pocketmusic.htm
Microsoft Money 2003 http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/downloads/money.mspx
Olive Tree BibleReader 2.31e051 http://www.olivetree.com/handheld/WinCE/WinCEBible.html
AOL Instant Messanger 2.0 http://www.aim.com/get_aim/win_ce/latest_wince.adp
WESTTEK ClearVue Suite * http://www.westtek.com/pocketpc/suite/
QuickTasks 2.8 * http://www.scarybearsoftware.com/ppc_qt_overview.html
InkSpot Newsgroup reader * http://www.dejavusoftware.com/inkce/index.html
Macromedia Flash player 6 http://www.macromedia.com/software/flashplayer/pocketpc/2002.html
Animated Today 2002 (not necessary, requires flash player) * http://www.gigabytesol.com/anitoday.htm
* Trial version, must be registered
I've sent these snapshots off to Stefan, along with the files that I thought might be necessary for these programs. This is going to be great for all of us, but a lot of work for Stefan. We all owe him a great deal, so take him out for a nice meal the next time you see him.
Shawn

LumpiStefan said:
Tomtom wouldn´t fit in the free space. Already didn´t work for TomTom 2.
Maybe i can include the Gps part....
Stefan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to make this any more complicated than it is, but for some programs, it just doesn't make any sense to install to the XDA memory. Most of the media players and "Misc" programs just take up too much unnecessary device memory when they would work just as well on the SD Card (if that's available).
The problem is that those huge programs require just a few small files to be placed on the device itself. So after installing a few of these types of programs, you've used up a lot of device memory from these small files, even though you installed the program to your SD Card.
Is there a way to alter the kitchen a bit to allow cooking of the necessary device files only, and allow the user to later install the program to the SD Card (being careful not to overwrite the files in ROM with files in RAM)?
For instance, with the TomTom program, if you start with a clean ROM and SD card, take a snapshot, then install the program to your SD card, then take another snapshot, you could determine what files need to be on the device, and what files don't need to be on the device, and allow users to either cook the entire program or just the necessary files in the ROM. (Note: This is a good example of a run-on sentence). Would this be a difficult feature to add to the kitchen?
Shawn

auburnham said:
For instance, with the TomTom program, if you start with a clean ROM and SD card, take a snapshot, then install the program to your SD card, then take another snapshot, you could determine what files need to be on the device, and what files don't need to be on the device, and allow users to either cook the entire program or just the necessary files in the ROM. (Note: This is a good example of a run-on sentence). Would this be a difficult feature to add to the kitchen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe the esiest Option is adding a new Select Point for the kitchen like "misc", "System Tools", "Phone" ....
This means having the programs double in the kitchen, but how cares.
I don't know exactly, but when you install a program to the SD-Card, could you select the part where to place it?
If yes, this could be a big problem. Many of the programs store the path in the registry.
If no, i could also provide a ZIP-file, where the rest of the programfiles are in, hust to unzip to the Storagecard.....
auburnham said:
We all owe him a great deal, so take him out for a nice meal the next time you see him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds good. I'm hungry all the time.... ;-)
Stefan

LumpiStefan said:
I don't know exactly, but when you install a program to the SD-Card, could you select the part where to place it?
If yes, this could be a big problem. Many of the programs store the path in the registry.
If no, i could also provide a ZIP-file, where the rest of the programfiles are in, hust to unzip to the Storagecard.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe this really depends on (1) how well the program was written, and (2) if you can install the program with CabInst (i.e. has a cab installation).
For example, I try to keep my SD Card organized and tidy so if I use CabInst I install the program to an appropriate folder on the SD Card. If I have to install the program from the desktop, I install the program to the SD Card root, then try to move the program to an appropriate folder and update the shortcut. Most of the time this works without even changing any registry entries, but sometimes it doesn't. Two examples from the above list of applications are AOL Instant Messenger 2.0 and Pocketmind PocketMusic 3.0. To function correctly, they both need to be in their original installation folders on the SD Card.
But perhaps the best solution would be to have an associated .zip file to go on the SD Card, as you suggested.
Shawn

Now the kitchen should be up 2 date again.
Only missing is PocketConsole and the Part "Software that needs to register"
So happy cooking and again Thx a lot to all users that helped me.....
Stefan

A Windows-way for cooking a ROM would be great for two reasons: 1) Don't hassle your server with lots of traffic and 2) Practical. Advanced users could cook a ROM without having a PC with Unix.
For example I tried cooking the Spanish version of the ROM and not all the programs I chose were installed and the worst thing is that the boot logo was just garbage, it was showing program code on the screen as a logo
Regards,
Marton

Marton said:
For example I tried cooking the Spanish version of the ROM and not all the programs I chose were installed and the worst thing is that the boot logo was just garbage, it was showing program code on the screen as a logo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. Fixed the problem with the bootscreen.....
Tried also adding as much application, and all have been installed.
Can you tell me, what files / programs are missing?
No one else told me that there have been a problem wirth this ROM. I think it's because of the situation that most of the useres are using WM2003 ROMS....
You can also use the kitchen under "Windows" just have to set up a Cyguin environment on your system....
Also i didn't know how many Kitchen's are implemented by other users, but mine one is the only "official". You can't believe that everyone would be able to set it up.......
Stefan

Thanks Stefan!!!!!!
Now it seems to work but if EzWAP is selected, it throws a Log error when trying to cook...
Cheers,
Marton
P.S.: Do you know if a Spanish WM2003 exists?
Edit: This is the error:
Cannot fit files in given sections
Error splitting files

Just cooked a ROM... I selected the "Windows Mobile XDA" Boot Screen and now it is not garbage anymore but now it shows mirrored and upside down...
Any ideas?

Marton said:
Just cooked a ROM... I selected the "Windows Mobile XDA" Boot Screen and now it is not garbage anymore but now it shows mirrored and upside down...
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Marton.
I relaised that this is a problem with the Image.
This Image have been sent to me, and i ithink it's created wih the wrong parameters....
Stefan

XDA2i Guide to cooking the Extended ROM

I finally found a method for backing up and modifying the Extended ROM on an XDA2i device.
http://en.pdamobiz.com/en/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=373&PN=1
Unfortunately, although this method is able to do most of what I want, some of the cab files do not self-extract successfully during the reset process.
Graham. -- Issue resolved. No spaces allowed in Cab file name --
Before you ask, yes the cab files do self-extract successfully if tried manually (i.e. outside of the reset process).
If anyone has any ideas why some cab files work and others do not, please let me know.

I played with the information in the article yesterday.. Some information in the article is incorrect. They state the ext. rom is 24 MB but when following the steps on the website this is incorrect !
Sure, extra drive reports a 24 MB drive but the what's backuped to the SD card doesn't include the whole 24 MB the ext. rom supposedly has !
What I'm typing below is more guess work than knowledge.
"d2s 80000000 3BF0000" probably means "dump to SD card" for a total length of 80000000 hex starting at 3BF0000 hex.
80000000 hex is 2147483648 in decimal. These aren't the amount in bytes that are copied.. I to honest it I have no real idea in what it are but when dividing it by 1024^2/100 you get 20,48. The / 100 is something I made up since that gives me about the amount in MBs I can put in the ext. ROM without having corrupted files. I don't want to experiment with larger values since I haven't studied the tools that are used in the article enough yet.
In short, be sure not to put more than say 20 MB in the ext. ROM and most likely your problems are solved. I personally put an executable sprite backup file in the ext ROM, packaged it in a way it will be copied to storage and run from there. It's the most effective way I could think of to fill an extended ROM. Simply with a fully installed but clean backup of the pocket pc.
Anyhow, that's it for now.

I considered it being a problem with size and reduced the amount of data in the Extended ROM by a huge amount (deleted several of the cab files that I did not need).
This reduced it down to around 13Mb for what it's worth.
All of the files installed to the ROM ok, but when the process which reads the Config.txt file reached the parts regarding two of the cabs I wanted to install, the files failed to self-extract without giving any feedback.
Several other cab files I wanted to install worked fine.
What all this means is that the problem (probably) lies somewhere other than the size of the Extended ROM.
Thanks for the post sparcle and if you find out anything more please let me know.
If anyone else can help here, please feel free to contribute.
Graham.

As above guide:
CE Rom size is 2700000 (hex)
Total backup size is 3BF0000 (hex)
So extended rom size is 3BF0000-2700000 = 14F0000 (hex) or 21,954,560 (dec)
So extended rom size shall not be over than 21,954,560 in total space.
-----------------------
But itsme's document
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=AlpineRomStructure
82700000-83f00000 extended rom
So backup range shall be 3F00000. (size = 66060288 (dec) which you can not use 64mb card, you have to use 128mb card to backup)
So sorry, I'll ask my friend ruchonburi to recheck again.

Just a quick note on the sizes you gave above:
83,f00,000 - 82,700,000 = 1,800,000 (hex)
= 25,165,824 (dec) (24Mb) for the extended rom.
83,f00,000 - 80,000,000
= 3,f00,000 (hex) = 63Mb for the whole rom
The document given at the site uses:
80,000,000 to 83,bf0,000 which may miss some of the extended ROM, which may explain my problem.
I will try using the numbers from wiki and see if it works.
Cheers,
Graham.

I tried using d2s 80000000 3f00000 to create the SD Card backup initially and I still had the same problem with some CAB files extracting successfully and some not.
Graham.

Looks like the issue may lie with spaces in the CAB filenames.
If it is I will kick myself for not realising it sooner and then post here to let you know.
Graham.

Ouch, ouch, ouch....
I've finished kicking myself.
The problem was indeed the space in the cab filename.
On the plus side it means that the process works fine.
Graham.

i just want to ask......by cooking Ext Rom....how much free space that can be use after that???? does it effect any upgrade in the future????

The Extended ROM is an area that you cannot normally write to and is not considered part of the memory (as far as I am aware) under Settings/Memory.
By cooking the ROM you can alter what applications get installed when the device is hard reset. The installed applications will take up their normal memory allocation so in that respect it will reduce the amount of memory available to further applications.
It is possible to increase the amount of memory available by cooking the ROM as there may be elements of the Extended ROM that came with the device that you do not actually want installed. This is done either by removing the relevant cab file completely or by removing the relevant entry from the Config.txt file (both should be done, but one or the other will have the same effect).
Hope this helps,
Graham.

gbird, thanks very much for that information. im sorry because asking question just about benefit, not about how and why. thanks again!

Hi fellow alpine owners
I'm keen to follow your tips and do some work in the kitchen.
I have downloaded all the relevant articles from the link provided so thankyou for that.
However i'm reluctant to take the first step with the thought of a unrecoverable disaster on my hands. MY NEW XDA2i!! So before i get started i thought i would consult the experts for any tips and traps for young players.
I've bought myself a large enough quality SD card to dump to.
I guess the aim of the exercise is to a remove unwanted programs and install some of the cool features of Special Edition ROM 1.2 including that really excellent anti theft tool.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, with what to remove/ install and how thanks in advance.
Miket
ROM version 1.11.00
ROM date 01/27/05
Radio version 1.03.00
Protocol Version 1337.42
ExtROM version 1.11.162 WWE

First tip, use the process to back up the ROM of the device and keep it very safe.
Since all you will be playing with is the Extended ROM (and not messing with the OS Rom or Radio Rom) the good news is that if you removed all of the files from the Extended Rom you would still be able to boot the device. This gives you an opportunity to remove files to see what they install. If it goes really wrong, you can restore the Extended Rom from the SD card backup.
The XDA2i device does have a lot of room on it for additional items so you can add in extra Cab files or Exe files if you wish. You need to modify the Config.txt file to make the Extended Rom run these extras.
As for which files do what, there is a lot of info available around this site and others and I am afraid I do not have time to go into it at the moment.
I will see if I get some time over the next few days, but work is a little hectic at the moment.
Hope you have fun,
Graham.

Thanks for the speedy reply Graham
Will endevour to make backup this evening and start chopping up extended ROM.
Any thoughts on the instructions provided by this web site.
http://en.pdamobiz.com/en/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=373&PN=1
Obviously a highly regarded PDA hacker.
I will be working through these. It's a bumber that XDA2i is so arkward.
Thanks for now
Miket

The page is pretty good (that's why I pointed at it)
RomUpdate
The only bit that is a bit short on description is the stuff regarding using the romupdate tool at the top.
If you need a more complete description of this tool then I would take a look at:
http://en.pdamobiz.com/en/forum/PDAforum_posts.asp?TID=62&PN=1&TPN=2
Be aware that the addresses for the d2s command are different for the XDA2 and XDA2i
Rom Structure
The memory address information for the Alpine (XDA2i) is available at this site:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=AlpineRomStructure
RomUpdate Commands
There is also a page describing some of the commands available in the romupdate tool:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HimalayaBootloaderCommands
XDA2 Cab Files
This site has a description of some of the XDA2 cab files which may interest you (though the XDA2i uses different cab files, some of which have similar names):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=6470
Soft Reset in the Config.txt File
The last bit I'm going to mention here is that the last item in the Config.txt file soft resets the device. If you remove this item for some reason then adding the line "RST: Reset" on the end of the Config.txt file will soft reset the device automatically for you.
Hope these are of use to you, I know they were all of use to me,
Graham.

Absolutely excellent thanks Graham
Have got as far as using the split tool.
Xp is throwing a 16bit error my way, so i will have to resolve that before i can go any further.
Are you suggesting that when i re-build extended ROM to include "RST:Reset" on the last line in config.txt?
Anyway it's time for bed.
Thanks for the great links, will read through these tomorrow.
Miket

With regards to the RST: Reset command, it is sometimes useful to soft reset the device at the end of the configuration.
This is because some of the Cab files will probably modify the registry and most of these changes will not be picked up until the device is soft reset (the device is still usable, just not using the changes).
Most of the builds that you may come across already do this as a last step in one of their Executables so they do not always include the reset line in the config file. Adding this line to the end will ensure that a soft reset always happens so that registry changes will be used.
Be warned, soft resetting the device will halt the configuration build at that point, so anything after the reset command will never happen.
I hope this makes some sense
Graham.

Hi again Graham
Finally sorted 16 bit issues with the PC. Have loaded SPLIT ROM and created the 3 components. Particularly ext.img
I have also created the virtual drive "X" with "ext.img"
File\properties tells me this is a 24MB file. All good until i wish to open. PC asks if i wish to format disk, i'm not able to read contents any ideas.
TA
Mike

I thought i would try downloading the cooked rom off en.pdamobiz.com as a test. The extended rom opened up perfectly in virtual drive creator. Mine however is an exact match size wise but wont open.
HMMM
I guess the next step is work out what i need and dont need in extended ROM. Assuming i can get past this stage.
Any guidance here would be appreciated.
Miket

Hello guys!
I'd like to modify my german extROM too but I have a little problem: when I'm starting the ntrw.exe (it lay in the basement of my HDD, in C:\) it closes itself!
So I mean, I can't use the ntrw.exe from the PDA-Miz guide to write the ROM-image to my HDD!
What can I do?
Thanks in advance
animelover from germany

Extended ROM; How can it be made useful?

Hi there,
I made visible the extended ROM of M600 with registry tweaks seen in this forum. I dont use any of the programs on the extended ROM, coz I dont like my phone to be customised for my service provider. (I soft reseted while it was trying to customize after the hard reset).
Now I have a 10MB of Ext ROM on "My Device". My qustions are;
1) Is this Ext ROM just like another 10MB SD Card?
2) WOuld this space make the my handheld run faster? or can this be made available fot programme memory?
3) Is there any advantage of installing programmes on it compared to on th SD Card?
Currently I have about 3MB of Orange CAB files on it. None of them I use.
How can I use this space efficiently?
Thanks in advance for any comments
ps: Another thing I just remembered is that, after I made this Ext ROM visible, I cant save the camera pics to SD card. The options on the camera settings are to save it on Main Memory or Ext ROM! it doesnt recognise SD card! funny! Any way around?

Anyone please..?

I order:
1) Yes it is exactly like a 10MB SD card, you just can't remove it from the device. If you need to hard reset it will become hidden again but the data will not be lost.
2) No. Program memory is RAM and this is FLASH. You can only use it for storage.
3) It is mounted before the SD, so if you have an app that needs to run on start up, you can put it on the ext ROM but not the SD.
4) I suggest you move the Orange cabs to your PC. Having the i-mate variant I had 9MB filled with stuff out of which all I needed were Skype and Voice speed dial. Then use this space for the basic and most needed apps. Also some apps like TCPMP can be used with content from different SD cards so ext ROM would be a good place for them. I try to keep main memory free for outlook stuff.
5) Yea, the camera app only seems to recognize the first storage card it sees. Don't know about a fix for that.

levenum said:
[...]
5) Yea, the camera app only seems to recognize the first storage card it sees. Don't know about a fix for that.
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Thank you very much, Levenum!
I finally understood a bunch of things about the ExtROM.
About this 5th point, I would add something.
The same identical problem raises when the \Network path created by Resco Explorer is shown on the main memory root.
The internal camera seems able to access only to the first two objects in the mountpoint list (you can see this list when installing some apps, as the dest options radio button)
So, question comes out: what about hiding ExtROM again after installing startup apps on it ?
I mean: are those apps still runnable, when staying on a hidden mountpoint ?
Thanks for any answer
..._

Sorry to butt in on this topic, but I have also been thinking of doing this.
I would just like to know though once the Extended Rom has been unlocked as described in many past posts, can you lock it again?
I am just asking this because, what happens if I have to return the phone? Surely messing with it would void any warranty?
I would need to restore the CABS back to Extended Rom, and then lock it before returning it.
Thanks

Val3r10 said:
So, question comes out: what about hiding ExtROM again after installing startup apps on it ?
I mean: are those apps still runnable, when staying on a hidden mountpoint ?
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Interesting, I never tried it. Perhaps if you don't change the MountHidden flag, but only the MountOrder.
NewSPV said:
I would just like to know though once the Extended Rom has been unlocked as described in many past posts, can you lock it again?
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I don't know about other devices, but in case of the Prophet it's just a matter of changing back the registry values and soft resetting.

Thanks for that.
I have already backed up my Extended Rom, as Total Commander let me copy the CABS without unlocking the Extended Rom.
Orange has only added 1.95 MB which seems such a waste of vital memory.
I have heard that approx 10 MB is set aside for this. Is this set physically in manufacture by HTC? Can the extended Rom be merged into main memory like partitions can be merged on a PC?
Thanks

I read somwhere that removing things from the extended rom gives the device more storage available and shown int he memory part of settings. This however is not true, the extended rom is a seperate partition, full or empty the device will work the same.
I use mine to store the cabs of installs I use when I hard reset. Saves me copying them over each time.

Thanks very much Levenum and others who contributed. That was very informative and I am glad many others have benefited with this thread.
Cheers

One note:
I made a little experiment this Friday, which require a me to restore my Jamin to it's original state. (Hard reset + restore ext ROM).
I didn't check the CAB attributes when I copied them so even though the ext ROM was in it's original state all cabs that were used after first hard rest were deleted and didn't install after second hard reset.
So when restoring your ext ROM make sure you mark all CABs 'read only'.

I unlock ExtRom and put mein cab, edit config.txt.
But after HardReset mein cab didn't installiert.
I think, dieses cab need to signen.
Help me please signen mein cab or any cab theoretically.

you also need the modified autorun.exe, the config file isnt read by the default one.

dannyoneill said:
you also need the modified autorun.exe, the config file isnt read by the default one.
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dannyoneill, wie kann man das machen? :shock:
..Sorry, how kan das make?

See this thread for more info
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=38957&highlight=autorun

dannyoneill said:
See this thread for more info
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=38957&highlight=autorun
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I have renamed the file so:
my_file.cab -> Default_my_file.cab
All the same it is not installed!
There it is spoken about Wizard, i have O2 Xda Neo.
Where it is possible to take patched file Autorun.exe?
Can somebody to lay out it if it´s have?
Please, help me.

as the thread says, you cant just rename the file as it needs to be signed and designed for wm5 for it to isntall. To do your own cabs you need to have a special autorun.exe that reads a config file.

How to remove saftware installed by default.

Hi. How do i remove installed software that i automatically installed when i flash the original att htc rom for the 8525. I want to remove office, and install the cabs. basically i want to free up room and place everything on a sd card. also i don't want to touch or replace the original rom core system. Thank you in advance for your help. genek

Well I appreciate you do not want to change ROM, but essentially what you are wanting to do is exactly what a customised light ROM does.
However, what you can try is to do a hard reset. When the screen comes up saying that it is installing provider customisation, you put the stylus in the reset hole. This effectively stops the installation of the ROMs customised programmes.
Now all you have to do is find cabs of the programmes you want.
Of course the essentials of the programmes are still on your device taking up some space, but not installed.
You might want to also investigate "extended ROM" use the search facility.
Also check the differences between program memory and storage memory all previously discussed here.
Mike

thank you for your reply. I will look around and see what I can find. Thanx for pointing me in the right direction.