tmobile mda exec: consequences of removing the 'extra stuff? - JASJAR, XDA Exec, MDA Pro General

Hi, I got a tmobile mda exec. I 've read this forum post about the method to remove, and perma-delete the extended rom software, aka 'extra marketing and branding crap'.
I'm keen, but I was wondering if somehow other TMobile users had tried it first . I kinda suspect some of those cabs might be required for even operating the device on the tmobile network, but I may be wrong (I hope i'm wrong!)
So, if anyone has successfully removed all the tmob stuff from their device by using the hardreset+softreset before it installs trick, please please, let me know if your phone still works!
TIA!

Your device will work. Stick a SIM in and you can make calls.
However, you probably won't have the right settings in for WAP, the color scheme will be WM default rather than pretty pink, the extra apps that you get (Skype? IntelliDialler? etc.) will be missing and you might also have less than optimal performance from a couple of WM programs. I know that my Orange .CABs install a couple of tweaks for PIE and Calendar.
If you are uncertain, sync your PDA then try it both ways.
Hard reset, skip the ExtROM and see how WM5 goes.
Hard reset again, let the .CABs load and see what has changed.
Do it this way round because I think you will probably find life eaiser with the customisations.
Either way, once the .CABs are installed you don't need them any more and if you back up (with Sprite or SPB) your device you can always restore your configuration without having to put the ExtROM back in there.

Related

New O2 Xda mini s

Hi
I'm new here but I was wondering if anyone knew how I could get rid of the O2 customizations. I've unlocked it with the unlocking tool but I cannot get a Rom for I-mate to clear the O2 rubbish as I am not allowed to join clubimate without a valid imei number.
I've checked xda-developers ftp site for the correct rom but i cannot find one anywhere.
Please help me
Sloane
You don't need a new ROM, and with the UK mini S, it's probably best to leave the supplied one alone as, amongst other things, the hardware keyboard layout is different and you'd need to re-patch the keys and symbols back onto the right keys from the i-mate defaults.
I let the full O2 install happen to see what it would install (aside from the 'Active' rubbish) before I did a hard reset to clear it all out. During the reset, when it says 'installing customisations in 5 secs' (or whatever the exact msg is), do a soft reset with the stylus in the hole in the side, and voila, native Wizard, but with correct keyboard mapping... Don't worry, your SIM unlocking will survive the hard reset.
Then, get Total Commander because there are some cab files in the extended ROM that you might want like the MMS editor, additional ring tones etc...
I've got a Qtek 9100 and a mini S (now on Vodafone) and the overall build quality of the mini S is much higher.
Hope that helps?
Dox
Right, I've done exactly as you said. I now have no O2 stuff there. I've got total commander on my phone but I dont know what to look for to get gprs and mms settings back.
Can you help please
Sloane
sloane said:
Right, I've done exactly as you said. I now have no O2 stuff there. I've got total commander on my phone but I dont know what to look for to get gprs and mms settings back.
Can you help please
Sloane
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, the choice of what to add is entirely up to you, but here's what I added...
during the customising bit that you stopped when you soft reset, the contents of the Extended ROM are installed. Autorun.exe reads Config.txt and all the cab files listed there are installed. We want some of them.
Point Total Commander to '\Extended_Rom\ and you'll see them all. I looked at the extended ROM on my 9100 and tried to find the equivalent O2 cab files. Even though I had already configured MMS connection and server details, the MMS inbox didn't show up until I installed the cab file with MMS1 in the name. I also ran the RingTone one, SmartDialing and, I think, Signed_Version.sa (because my Qtek phone had a similar file, even though I'm not sure what's in it).
I've got a Voda SIM in, so I set up the two GPRS access points for web and wap( only used for MMS). Raphael over at BeyondTheTech.com has the MMS settings available as cab files to d/l and install, to save typing them in by hand. They must also be in the Extended ROM cab files, but I didn't need the O2 ones, and couldn't tell from the names, which cab they were in. The k-jam comes with all the carriers' settings in conveniently named files, and that's what Raphael has listed.
If I had had more time, I might have installed them all, one by one to see what each contained, but I was going out and wanted to take the mini S with me.
Hopefully, that will get you a good way there, but if you are stuck with any other bits, yell and I or somebody else will help I'm sure...
Good luck,
Dox
Try these files for phone settings
http://www.buymobilephones.net/sp3_setup.ihtml
V
To get rid of the O2 interface I just removed it from the Startup directory in Windows, there are two files, both with O2 icons and then did a soft reset. Although I imagine there's still some O2 trickery lurking around on my device, I didn't have to add any new settings or anything that required me to switch my brain from inactive to mildly inactive.
Eradificator said:
To get rid of the O2 interface I just removed it from the Startup directory in Windows, there are two files, both with O2 icons and then did a soft reset. Although I imagine there's still some O2 trickery lurking around on my device, I didn't have to add any new settings or anything that required me to switch my brain from inactive to mildly inactive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, im thinking of just removing those two files from start up as i dont want to do anything too extreme to get rid of 02 rubbish and the method of hard resetting sounds a little tricky, not sure i'd be confident doing it as i only just got the phone.
Have you noticed any error messages since doing this? Does the 02 rubbish not just appear again next time you do a soft reset?
Just let it do what its doing and then choose basic install. Then remove the 02 active in startup to stop the annoying message.
My wizard is running fine like that with all the mms settings etc.
Ok, i haven't hard reset but i have removed the 02 active thing in start up and its no longer appearing on the desktop now. Phone seems a bit more responsive.
tom99 said:
Ok, i haven't hard reset but i have removed the 02 active thing in start up and its no longer appearing on the desktop now. Phone seems a bit more responsive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your happy with how its performing then dont change. However if you hard reset and opted for a basic you should see even more of a speed increase. But like I say if it aint broke it dont need fixin

Brand new O2miniS: how to tweak to get max performance?!

Dear all,
I'm new here, I've had a good look through the forum, but I feel a lot of the information is a little over my head. I was hoping for some advice for my new MiniS out of the box:
Regarding setting up my device, are there any programs I should or shouldn't install? Or anything I should uninstall immediately?
Am I better off with the O2 ROM, or is there another I should flash my device with?
Are there any particularly good pieces of software that you could recommend?
Thank-you very much for your help,
s_h_a_h_i_d
look at htc magician forumpart (topics)
look at htc magician forumpart (topics)
Surely since the XDA Mini S is an HTC Wizard, not a Magician, he'd be better off looking at the Wizard forum?
o2 mini is a magician init
Yes, but the thread title refers to an O2 Mini S.....
He is refering to MiniS mate.
HA HA, Now that the squabbles are over, , I'd like to add my bit.
The best thing anyone can do first off with the MINI S is toss that o2 customised crap right off.
I am assuming you have'nt put too much on it yet
Press the soft reset button. (Under the IR port)
As you let go of that reset button, make sure you are pressing both the comm manager button, AND the voice buttons. Thats the top left side and upper right side buttons.
This is called a hard reset and WILL ERASE EVERYTHING prom the phones memory.
Do the screen calibration and cut/paste bit.
When it say's "Tap the screen to start using your device", be ready to press the soft reset again.
This is because when you tap the screen, a customisation box will appear.
PRESS THE RESET BUTTON, when you see this box.
The phone reboots and hey presto, proper PDA, not o2's idea of one.
Hope this helps.
Just to add to the above, there is a thread on here regarding decent software for the PDA.
Have a look through the thread list and you'll see it.
I would recommend Resco as a decent file manager with some excellent features. Be careful with some of these tools if you are not sure what you are doing.
Other than that, have fun.
Press send to restore factory default, other keys to quit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So which key is the send button?
EDIT: 4th time lucky, the green one
Horrorwood said:
Press send to restore factory default, other keys to quit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So which key is the send button?
EDIT: 4th time lucky, the green one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, oops, sorry forgot about that bit!!! :?
Hi Jerry-S and everyone.
I've just got a T-Mobile MDA Vario, the Wizard version of T-Mobile.
Would you recommend me doing the same hard reset so that I can get rid of T-Mobile settings?
My Device Information shows:
ROM version: 1.6.2.4 WWE
ROM date: 11/15/05
Radio version: 01.12.10
Protocol version: 4.0.13.23
ExtROM version: 1.6.2.105
Can I update to a newer ROM and if yes where can I download it and how can I update ROM, please?
Thanks for your help.
Rgds,
PPB
Hi BUSPBP,
I am a relatively new user myself and won't offer advice on anything I am not sure of.
I have seen ROM updates on here for other networks but as I am on o2 and running my most recent ROM, I can't comment.
Just to be sure you understand though, the updating of a rom that isn't specifically for your unit has many risks. At the end of the day, it's up to you so just put ROM in the search page and have a look at what comes up.
As for removing the Network Provider software, I would assume that the process is the same for them all, as the extra operator features are installed from an extended ROM.
That's to say, the main OS is installed first and then the extra stuff installs afterward.
If you can replace things that you have put on your phone then give it a go, it'll either work or not.
At the end of the day, if you like the extra things and want them back, do another hard reset and let everything install as it wants.
Hope this helps.
Hi Jerry-S,
Thanks for your help. After reading through some threads in this forum I've decided to upgrade my Wizard with the new Qtek ROM. It now works much faster and I don't have any more problem with Wifi connection.
Can you or anybody please advise what does the ExtROM do and if I can exclude it from the device? Any good in doing this?
PPB
If you think of it this way, it's a little easier to understand.
When the device is new or has a hard reset, the following happens.
(If I get this wrong, I'm sure someone will let me know. LOL)
1. The device powers up and a section called the Bootloader starts.
2. As the operating system is not there, it installs it from a ROM.
3. The operating system then runs and you do the stylus calibration
and the date / time settings
4. That is the PDA set up.
5. After that, another ROM is installed, (If you let it), which contains all
the customised software for your particular phone company supplier.
All it means is that the basic Windows OS is running at the same time as the custom software and the Windows functions are accessed by the company customisations that you are presented with.
Because of this, the processor in the PDA is working in effect, twice as hard and it is slower.
As far as I am aware, there is nothing in this custom layer that can't be done directly in the Windows layer.
I would like to upgrade my ROM also as the o2 ROM is one of the oldest versions released, but as I see it, once installed, there is currently no way to downgrade back to the previous version if something goes wrong. Thats the only reason I have'nt done it.
As for removing it completely, I am not sure. I have seen posts on here reffering to that, but I think it is contained somewhere that you couldn't make use of anyway. i.e. Making use of the extra storage space that it takes up.
I know I get a bit long winded, but I have a bit of a job explaining stuff. LOL, sorry.
Hi Jerry-S,
I remember someone told that we could prevent the ExtROM from installation by soft-resetting before that process, but since I don't know yet what are included in the ExtROM and if there's any good in doing so I haven't tried it yet.
I don't know if the O2 device and network settings have anything too special that you could hardly set. In my case though I've got the T-Mobile version I am actually using Orange, so it's perhaps easier for me to come to the decision. And it's worth it for me. No problem with the upgrade, given that I've unlocked CID in advance as someone has warned. And the device is running much faster. That has even halted my intension of doing the overclock, at least for now
PPB
Comments recieved.
I must admit, I kept looking and looking at the ROM file on my computer thinking errrrrrrmmmmm...............
Well I did it, but I didn't notice any real increase in speed, actually it seemed slower to me.
That in mind I though, balls and put the o2 Rom back on.
As for the EXT ROM reatures, I think the main advantage is that the MMS and Mobile web settings are set for you, but those could be found quite easily.

removal of orange software on m3100

before i go ahead and buy the orange m3100 version of the tytn, can anyone tell me how easy it is to remove all the installed orange rubbish from it? and will it void the warranty if i do so? or it it best just to live with it?
never had a windows based phone before
cheers!
If you mean the orange branded home screen rubbish that they seem to love putting on most of their phones then this is quite easy, just go into the today screen settings, items, and untick the orange option, this will see you back to a normal pda.
cool! didn't realise it was that easy!
thanks!
I haven't had direct experience with an Orange device but I do know that it is not quite that simple with an o2 device. If you change homescreen, all it does it change the theme rather than get rid of the o2 UI (which takes up about half the screen whic useless links and icons!).
However the solution to this is not too complicated either. All you need to do is do a hard reset and then do a soft reset before the extended ROM installs. This will definitely leave you with a non-branded device, although you might have to reinstall one or two useful apps that get installed with the extended ROM (eg. when I did it I had to reinstall the smart dialler).
Hope this helps and apologies to Nightshot if I am wrong about Orange devices. As I said I haven't had to do this on an Orange device.
To really get shot of it you can soft reset your device after the initial setup but before the customisation setups run. This will stop the Orange customisation running and leave you with a vanilla WM5 device.
Then you can install the cab files in extended rom without installing the orange customization CABs.
You can find instructions on how to access your extended rom on the wiki:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Hermes_Unhide_Extrom
If you do it, please post your extended rom here (we still don't have the orange ExtROM contents!):
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Hermes_ExtendedRoms
nice one.
thanks to all for the info.
pof: i don't actually have one yet - just wanted to make sure i wasn't making a mistake getting an orange branded device that i couldn't de-customise.
thanks!
i've just done it
got a m3100 today and removing the orange stuff is one of my 1st jobs. I removed the xda 2i o2 stuff by registering as a corporation but saw no kind of option on the m3100. I deselected orange from the today options and set it to windows default. I dont know if still having the orange stuff on device will cause slow down. doesn't appear too.
I did this to allow me to sync with my Mac but I now don't have my MMS settings and video calling.
How do you get around this?
JustinFe said:
I did this to allow me to sync with my Mac but I now don't have my MMS settings and video calling.
How do you get around this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You did what? Not installing the customized CABS (e.g. the Ext ROM)?
If so, you need to get a copy of the Ext ROM for your orange, and find the file that is responsible for the MMS and Video calling. You can either search in this forum (not sure if there is), or just guess by their names.
I hard reset then prior to the orange customisation/ cabs loading did a soft reset - the 'phone works fine apart from mms and video messaging. I've tried running the MMS cab from Extended ROM, then soft resetting - loading onto device but this doesn't bring MMS back.
Any ideas?

Brand New Wing out of box, whats next?

OK. So I've had my Wing for a week now, it's not unlocked like it said it was on the ebay auction... I'm still waiting to get an unlock code. Apparently my imei was not in t-mobile database, so the unlocker has to get the unlock code from HTC in Taiwan. Anyways, I wanted to know how I would go abouts installing any touch roms. I'm very new to the scene, I know how to soft and hard reset, but if I ever bricked my phone I think I'd lose it and freak out. If anyone has any step by step tips please let me know.
Ps. I dont think my Wing is CID unlocked.. but I could be wrong. Thanks!
There are a couple of Rom's in development at the moment, being made specifically for the wing, but they haven't been perfected... so if you don't have alot of experience with flashing rom's, I would wait until people get them to work flawlessly before you start trying to install them.
Take a look at the HERALD WIKI page to learn more about your device.
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Herald
Take a look at TylerC161's guide for the WING
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=327046
Official T-mobile Stock ROM (TMO WING RUU)
make sure you download this and have it handy in case you brick your wing while flashing roms.
Stock T-mobile Rom with only TouchFlo added (works fine!)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=329456
PDAVIET WING ROM (flash procedure not working 100%)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=329913
TOUCH-IT WING ROM (in development)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=332075
Duprade, quick question if you don't mind.
When you put on a new rom (like say...the wing touch it that's being worked on)....
1)Do you have to reinstall all programs you already have on there? And do you have to transfer any contacts you have through outlook over to sim to avoid delete?
2)Do you have to re-do the pagepool fix? I actually did the "Clear Storage" option the other night when I couldn't figure out how to remove something, and I have no idea if it undid the pagepool fix. I installed everything I had again, and am tempted to try the fix again to make sure it's on there, incase the clear storage got rid of it. But I'm not sure if it's gonna delete all my crap if I do that, and also if it might hurt something if it's already done.
PS..I tried installing the minimo which you mentioned in another thread (I love mozilla products), but it wasn't working. Maybe I got the wrong version? It'd show the splash screen, with a loading bar underneath that would fill to about 80% then stop. It also drained my memory down to ridiculous levels (like 0.3 when I quit it).
1. yes. If your contacts are already on sim, whatever good for you, but NEW contacts default to phone, so transfer any contacts that you got after your last hard reset to your sim before hard resetting.
2. Yep. After you install the pagepool fix, you soft reset. Soft resetting retains data.
Don't use minimo. It's terrible. Mini Opera. Or Full opera, but its payware
fzzyrn said:
1. yes. If your contacts are already on sim, whatever good for you, but NEW contacts default to phone, so transfer any contacts that you got after your last hard reset to your sim before hard resetting.
Well that's annoying, because if you have someone under multiple numbers, then it seperates them with a /m, /h, /w...etc. Also, after you transfer them back to phone, it keeps the sim ones in contacts, so you have duplicates. I tried deleting all of the sim ones again through sim manager, but they pop right back up. Only way that seemed to work was just now when I went in and one by one permanently deleted them from sim (until next time I change things, of course )
2. Yep. After you install the pagepool fix, you soft reset. Soft resetting retains data.
Ok. So after I install the new touch-it (once it works), I do that. Good.
Did the "clear storage" also undo my pagepool? Should I re-do it now? And when you say soft resetting retains data...does that mean if I re-do it now I won't lose all of the stuff I've put on again? Or will the pagepool clear me out?
Don't use minimo. It's terrible. Mini Opera. Or Full opera, but its payware
I'm tempted. Tabbed browsing is key...IE sucks as far as that. Don't know any other advantages/disadvantages as far as mobile versions..this is my first smartphone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks alot for your response.
PS....this being my first smartphone, I absolutely love it. Also love that there are many people that mod and help make it better. Now if only I could figure out the damn thing about myfaves not showing in my call history and for missed calls...
1. If you use a third party contact manager (PocketCM?) only phone contacts will show. Dunno why, i guess we havent quite mastered sim access
2. yep. reapply, soft reset. no data loss.
full opera has tabbed browsing. go buy it. well worth it
fzzyrn said:
1. If you use a third party contact manager (PocketCM?) only phone contacts will show. Dunno why, i guess we havent quite mastered sim access
2. yep. reapply, soft reset. no data loss.
full opera has tabbed browsing. go buy it. well worth it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I will have to take a look at that PocketCM. I thought the contacts were fine the way they were, though I was looking at adding that ipod style scrolling. Is pocketCM better than the default contact manager?
I re-did the pagepool thing as well, just to be sure.
As far as opera..how much does it cost? And where do I go to make sure I get the right version? I'd definitely be interested in it.
Thanks for the links. EDIT - Mines unlocked!!! I'm happy as hell. Im selling my Siemens SK65 on ebay now. =)))
Glad you got all your questions answered. That's one thing I really enjoy about this site ... is helping people and everyone's willingness to help each other.

Unlock Extended Rom

Hi there
I've just got my shiny new Touch HD. Wow - what an upgrade to my Orbit 1 (don't laugh). I loved my Orbit but this is so much better. It's not revolutionary, but everything has evolved so well i.e. the big screen, no horrible frame around the screen, USB 2 connection, love the Drive mode thingi when you plug it to your computer ect.
Only problem is I can't get TomTom to work - I'll sort that out later...
Now to the question - how do you unlock the extended rom (I think that what they call it)? I want to prevent the applications from installing i.e. TouchFlo Home Plugin after a hard reset. I find the combination of SPB Pocket Plus 4 Tabs, Today Agenda (and a few other apps.) a much better combination for me.
Hope someone can help.
Anis
Did you try a soft reset when the waiting screen pops up after a hard reset?
Why dont you just uncheck TouchFlo in Settings-Today?
Thanks for the replies.
Ideally I wouldn't want unwanted apps to install. I know it's a fast device but I like to have a clean system.
I could reset the device when it's about the install everything (don't even know how to reset) however I want to keep certain things like the Black HTC theme and a few other things.
Anis
Tried and failed - what did I do?
RacerII said:
Did you try a soft reset when the waiting screen pops up after a hard reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just tried this last night and tried at multiple stages... and no matter what it insisted on installing all the bloatware. Any idea what I might be doing incorrectly?
When you say "wait screen" - do you mean the initial WinMo v6.1 green-splash screen, or the same display with "Please wait while we [something] for first time use"? I also tried at the Home screen before the customization begins, and while it was running... all still ended up with the software being installed. :/
I've read some great posts (here and Howard Forums) about using Total Commander and entering "\Extended Rom\" but that doesnt open anything on my device. Does that area need to be unlocked?
Thanks for any tips!
I think you need a custom Rom without all of the applications. I had one on my Omnia.
hmm...
typing "\Extended_Rom\" in total commander does not work.
those registry which hide/unhide and lock/unlock extended rom are not there too.
check the wiki, nothing about extended rom or customed rom which is meant for Service Provider specific.
Or is it because the HD I am having is tied to 1 provider, but it is already SIM unlocked which can use other providers SIM.
The original rom is lag, very lag, lots of rubbish in "\windows\" directory beside M$ original files.
How are the cooked roms around in the forum?
drbf said:
I think you need a custom Rom without all of the applications. I had one on my Omnia.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for this plan. I'm running a lighter custom 6.5 rom (NRG) with none of the startup ui's. I've loaded Mobile shell#3 and it works very well. Quickest combo I've found so far for snappy-ness and speed. Battery life is fine with it. Try diff light roms without the startup bloatware and you may find something that you like.

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