Database Users

ROM upgrade help

I wanted to install one of the ROMs from www.yorch.net. But before doing so I have some questions:
1. If I choose to build ROM as an installer.exe, is installing it to my device as simple as running the .exe file? (of course with the device connected thru Activesync)
2. Is my present ROM (see specs below) supported?
3. If Murphy comes to visit and I screw up, will my phone be completely unusable or can I just reinstall old ROM, do hard reset and everything will be back to how it was?
My specs:
OS: Pocket PC ver 3.0.12039
ROM:3.20.06 ENG( 07/30/03) (O2 Asia I think since I bought it here in the Philippines)
Radio: 4.21.00.
Thanks

1 as far as i know yes havent don it to my own device yet though
2 a rom dont have to support a rom since it'll overwrite it
3 of cause merphy can also show his ugly face
but if all fails a sd flash reader writer can save many a tears
also if your phone is working ok then i would not mess with the
radio stack and beware because some roms include the radio stack
and if you try to update your radio stack to a US (900/1900) and you network is 900/1800 you could be in for a world of pain

ROM upgrade step by step
OK I'm really dying to give it a go but I'm just a overly cautious bloke. So I'm gonna outline what I interpreted (after reading lots of posts I think I'm getting it but not sure) to be the way do the upgrade. Please correct me if i'm wrong:
Equipment I have:
1. My notebook (Windows XP, Activesynch 3.7)
2. O2 XDAI
3. Cradle and USB connection.
Steps that I think I should take:
1. Place XDA on cradle and make sure it's connected with PC.
2. Backup?? (not so sure what to back up since contacts, calendar, notes are synched with outlook, docs are also synched, I have copies of cab and program files since I download them to PC before installing them to XDA.) If i'm missing something please slam a frying pan (this is a kitchen right?) on my head.
3. Go to www.yorch.net, check mark on all appropriate options, then (since I have to Unix box and dont know Unix at all) just go for the easy option of cooking the .exe install file.
4. Assuming, the .exe is downloaded to my PC. This time I just run it. I expect this to be just like installing PPC apps. If not, throw a tomato on my face
5. Assuming everything worked and Murphy's in the Arctic freezing his A**e off, then all I do now is hard reset.
6. I have a new ROM and I'm singing happy-happy-joy-joy.
To the wonderful people at xda-developers, am I in the right direction or am I as lost as Bill and Ted? If I'm lost, is there a step-by-step guide for non-unix programmers? (Sorry, there was a sticky but I thought it was for people with Unix boxes)
Once again, thanks for all your help and your patience.

2. Backup?? (not so sure what to back up since contacts, calendar, notes are synched with outlook, docs are also synched, I have copies of cab and program files since I download them to PC before installing them to XDA.) If i'm missing something please slam a frying pan (this is a kitchen right?) on my head.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i can think of one thing to backup and thats your current rom
so if you dont like the new rom you are getting you have the option to go back
of cause if the rom you have now is downloadble from a place you know like your isp then maybe it dont matter

Thanks for the reply. That's a good point. Question: When you back up old ROM, is it just the ROM that gets backed up or is it the whole content of the device, like how you do in PCs?
Also, since no one, besides you, has made any comments regarding the steps that I outlined, is it safe to say that they are the correct steps?
Thanks

When you backup your ROM, no stuff that you customised will be in the backup - the backed up ROM will be the same as when you received it from your retail shop, or if you upgraded, it will be the upgraded ROM without any of your stuff. Do a backup and store it on your hard disk.
DON'T use the .exe cooked ROM, use a .nb1 or .nbf, and use XDA Tools from this site to do the upgrade. It's very easy that way, and less dangerous. Don't upgrade your radio stack unless you know exactly what you're doing, or your phone supplier has made an update available just for you.
If you use a T-Mobile ROM above version 4.00.05 it blocks the XDA-Tools from updating the ROM. At that point you need to use XDARIT (from this site) to low-level write the ROM image you have onto your SD card using an SD card reader which shows the card as another drive on your computer. Once you do that you need to boot into the boot-loader (press the reset button while holding the power button) and follow the prompts to restore from an SD card. If you're unlucky and are running bootloader 5.17 (or above I think) you need to write the bootloader diagnostics patch (wallaby patch from this site) onto your SD card first before doing the boot into the bootloader thing. You can then remove the SD card, write the O/S ROM onto it with XDRIT, and put it back into your phone while it's still sitting on in diagnostics mode. Then you can restore from the SD.
It sounds complicated, but it's easy, as long as you have an SD card reader, and as long as you don't mess with trying to update the bootloader or do an unknown radio update. There's lots of info in these forums if you get stuck.
I made a thread that summarised all the steps using the new tools and ROM's at this address : http://xda-developers.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3860. It's for Asian/European users, but if you are in the US the instructions are the same, except instead of using European 900/1800 radio you use 900/1900.

Further questions on ROM update
Thanks. It's becoming clearer and clearer. Have more clarifying questions:
1. How do you know whether or not you're including the radio stack with the ROM upgrade at yorch.net. I did not see any options there.
2. At www. yorch.net, nothing happens when I press the "Build ROM Now" command button. Is the download supposed to happen in the background or is there something wrong with my PC or the site?
3. I dont think I'm using the T-mobile ROM but how do I know if I'm runing bootloader 5.17? Is bootloader 5.17 only for T-Mobile users or all?
Once again, thanks for the help and bearing with a newbie.

2. At www. yorch.net, nothing happens when I press the "Build ROM Now" command button. Is the download supposed to happen in the background or is there something wrong with my PC or the site?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it should start to write some text about the progress of making the rom
and when it's finished then it should init a std download dialog

The meter down at the status bar does move, same as when you're loading a webpage, then it says Done. That's about it. Didnt see any other messages or dialogue boxes.
Can anyone confirm if it's up today or has it been down?
Thanks
PS. Tried to email using the email utility at the website but getting errors there as well.

OK, firstly to answer your question about Yorch's site... well it worked for me in getting all the ROM's I wanted, then when I went back again the download didn't work. I guess it's just on and off, so unless Yorch finishes getting married or someone else makes another kitchen it's a matter of pot luck. You can get away without using the kitchen if you can find another download source for ROM's, whether it be FTP or whatever. Just remember if you get an exe you can usually pull it apart with winzip to get the .nb1 or .nbf out of it.
Now, for Q1 :
An operating system ROM is generally just under 32MB, but when zipped from Yorch it's usually about 14 or 15MB - the operating system ROM will NEVER be smaller than that. I'm not sure about the exact radio stack size but I know it's a lot less than that. Also, doing some homework about the operating system ROM helps. eg. reading about the 4.01.00 ROM tells you that it's not a radio stack upgrade, it's an operating system upgrade - and the filename and the size of the file you receive reflects that.
Q2:
answered above...
Q3:
I think the bootloader is just pot-luck depending on when you phone was released. To check your bootloader it will reset your device completely, but I read somewhere that if you turn the radio (phone) off it doesn't hard reset. If you're worried, do a full backup first. But basically when you're ready to look, reset your phone while holding the power button and it will tell you the bootloader version. Don't be too turned off by that, I have read that SD card readers can be picked up very cheap if you look around, and that's all you need to get you out of trouble regardless of the bootloader version.
There's no real risk (but I won't guarantee anything), just make sure your phone is fully charged before mucking about with SD upgrades. Also make sure the radio (phone) is switched off before upgrading... using the bootloader/sd card method you shouldn't need to be concerned. I'm not sure what effect having your phone on and receiving a call while using XDA-Tools can have, but someone did mention it somewhere.
I'm a newbie too, but there's really not much you need to know, just a few caveats.

Yorch's Kitchen has been working OK for me the last couple of days. It takes maybe about 5 mins to "cook" before telling me that the ROM is ready. The 4.00.05 ROM gave me a lot of ActiveSync problems, so I went to the 4.00.16 ROM tonight and it looks like it's behaving better.
My SD reader is a Microtech Zio. It appears as a disk drive in windows, but the newer XDArit can't initialize a connection to write to the SD card. I used the "dangerous" older version of XDArit instead (available on Yorch's site), and it's worked OK for me (so far?).
One thing I wish I had realized before I started playing - going into the bootloader will reset your phone most (some?) (all?) of the time.
While I was flashing the ROM tonight I could see the GSM light flashing - I had the same "hope no one calls" feeling tht others must have had. Note that this was while I was flashing from an SD card in the bootloader - so apparently the process doesn't deactivate the phone while it's ongoing.

Muchas Gracias!
Ebswift, if ur a newbie then ur the god of the newbies. Thanks for all the help and for making me see the light. Much appreciated...

A quick Q:
Is the process for installing an .nbf file the same as that for installing an .nb1 file?
I have cooked a few ROMS to an .nb1 format and installed those OK, but now I have one in .nbf that I'd like to install.
So what I'd plan to do is put the nbf onto an SD card using XDArit, and then stick the card in the PPCPE and reboot to the loader. Is that it?

So what I'd plan to do is put the nbf onto an SD card using XDArit, and then stick the card in the PPCPE and reboot to the loader. Is that it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do it that way (onto the SD card), or if you're not already using a T-Mobile ROM you can use XDA Tools which is easier. Basically the capabilities are spelled out for you with the available file types in the drop downs when you select a source.

and what if someone (me) can not afford to break anything?

Instaead of Hi I say you are great people
So the case is... I just need to have working Qtek 1010 with SOME additional soft on it inside a ROM...
I've read many pages in this forum and I'm able to find too many ways to change my ROM. I'm totaly confused.
I work for extremaly big worldwide company and they gave me q Qtek, told me to use it, gave me one simple application and web link... so I do.
But the Qtek is much powerfull than that so I need to flash my ROM.
Now comes a question: where can I find one document how to prepare for it, what tools do I need, how to do it... I know after some tries I will be confident enough to do such stuff easlily, my problem is I have only one try, they will make me w trouble if I screw my company recource.
I understand you had milion similar questions like that. Basicly I need help how to flash so I can be sure 100% not less that I can recover in case of trouble. I hope you understand I'm afraid to do it because lack of experience and you are able to tell me if I should try to flash...
or maybe it's better for me to ask my boss to by me a 512 MB SD and install all additional soft on it and stop worring about memory?
I'd appreciate any opinion... you are the best and I'm just new to this bussines...

Get an sd card, backup existing rom to sd card, very easy to do by bootloader method. Enter bootloader by holding down power while inserting stylus in the reset hole on the bottom left of pda then press top right function key, then choose ce to sd. Once you have done this you can check if it has in fact backed up your rom by putting sd card in the pda, enter bootloader, it will then give the option to program the rom, just remove the card and push the reset with stylus again, the other method to check a working backup is to put the sd card in the pda, the pda will ask to format it, say no and remove it. Once you have a backup you can either use xdatools to copy it to your pc or keep it in a safe place, no more files must be written to this card otherwise it will be rendered useless, if you wish to reuse the card sometime it will need formatting. Once you have your backup, go to www.yorch.net, cook yourself a rom and download it in the exe format, this will do a normal install from your pc while connected to pda via activesync, if it messes up you always have your backup. Once you become more proficient at using xdatools you might wish to try out lots of different roms until you are happy with the result, you can go on to sd card flashing which is a much better way of programming rom and much less prone to error because it doesnt rely on a pc connection. I would advise you to leave the radio stack alone, if you can make and receive call ok leave it alone. Have a thorough look around the forum before proceeding. Its good fun to program your pda and you can make it a much better tool, but make sure you always have a way out if things go wrong.

www.yorch.net not working... is there a place like that?
Hi!
I read the above post, one of the clearest here, and I almost got the confidence to finally do this ROM update...
But:
1) Can't find the www.yorch.net website where I could "cook myself a rom and dowload it in a .exe format"
2)It's still not very clear to me what exactly cooking a ROM means: it concerns the OS (the version 1.53, 1.72 type of stuff), the extended ROM (the default programs u get starting after and hard reset like the SW for the camera etc) or both?
Thanks!!!
Chris

Another ROM Kitchen
Try the following ROM Kitchen http://lumpistefan.dyndns.org/
I noticed that you have the XDAII. Now, someone please correct me if I'm wrong but the directions above and the ROM kitchens are all for the XDA I or Wallaby version.

Re: www.yorch.net not working... is there a place like that?
cchris said:
Hi!
I read the above post, one of the clearest here, and I almost got the confidence to finally do this ROM update...
But:
1) Can't find the www.yorch.net website where I could "cook myself a rom and dowload it in a .exe format"
2)It's still not very clear to me what exactly cooking a ROM means: it concerns the OS (the version 1.53, 1.72 type of stuff), the extended ROM (the default programs u get starting after and hard reset like the SW for the camera etc) or both?
Thanks!!!
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chris,
Those Roms are made for XDA1 beware it's not made for the device you have!!!!!!

What's the kitchen for XDA II
THANK YOU!
I was starting on the wrong foot... :-( :?
Anyway a couple of more question:
1) Is there a place like that for XDA II Kitchen? Is my undestanding of what a kitchen is correct?
2) The process for ROM backup outlined above, is still correct for XDA II?
Thanks!
Chris

I'm in the same boat as you CChris. I've been diligently a daily searching through the numerous topics on this site looking for similar information. I haven't found it yet - or at least nothing not-to-super-technical. I do know that you get to the bootloader by pressing the power button, reset button, and down on the toggle at the same time rather than the Wallaby way of the power and reset buttons only. It also seems that there are issues regarding 'country' and that it requires software to get around this. I haven't found the software yet - the links that I've seen all point to "itsme's" website which is currently down.
You can read the thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=9053&highlight=
Hopefully, someone with a lot more knowledge than me can go over updating the XDA II as clearly as cruisin-thru did for the XDA I.

The instructions on http://wiki.xda-developers.com/wiki/HimalayaRomFlashing are correct.
Unfortunately, there was an issue where the wiki removed the ~ from itsme's website's address. It's been replaced with %7e and now the link works.
If you download a ROM from the same vendor as your device (e.g. Qtek ROM on Qtek device, iMate ROM on iMate device, etc.) you don't need to use these instructions, you can just install the ROM upgrade from your vendor.
If you want to use the latest ROM (from iMate) and your device isn't an iMate, you need to decrypt, change the "country" code, encrypt, and then run the upgrade.
You can also edit the extended ROM when flashing, but it's easier to use itsme's extRom Tools. See http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=8422
You do NOT need to flash the ROM if you are not experiencing problems, or if you are experiencing problems which the new ROM also has (for example ugly cleartype fonts, which may be fixed without flashing). Flashing the ROM may void your warrantee. You will lose all your data when you upgrade, and you should not restore a backup, only your my documents folder.
If you are a newbie, it may be best not to flash your ROM. If you typed in itsme in google, you would have found his xs4all address as the third link, and would have quickly found out his site wasn't down at all, but the link was just wrong.
Just a warning: the things that could go wrong when flashing are potentially much worse than a wrong URL, and the answer to those problems won't be the third link in google.

NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO DON'T COME NEAR THE RADIO UPGRADE I QUOTE I FRIEND HERE THAT SAYS
DON'T MESS UP WITH A WORKING RADIO OR YOU'LL END UP WITH A SLIVER BRICK !!!!!!!!!
BEEN THEIR :x :x :x :x

Rabia said:
NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO DON'T COME NEAR THE RADIO UPGRADE I QUOTE I FRIEND HERE THAT SAYS
DON'T MESS UP WITH A WORKING RADIO OR YOU'LL END UP WITH A SLIVER BRICK !!!!!!!!!
BEEN THEIR :x :x :x :x
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rabia can you tell me how did you get out from there?

never got out of it

Advice and/or help..

1st i have to say this site and all the people here ROCK!!!! very informative,sometimes even with illustrations. i'm learning here.
1. I ordered an unlocked AT&T 8525 w/ WM5, BUT.....when i received it,it was never unlocked & it had WM6 professional on it..so of course i came here and Sim & CID unlocked it quick. "THESE GUYS ARE ALL AWESOME" .
Now this is what i have installed on my AT&T 8525(bare with me guys,plzz)
HTC Album
HTC Audio Manager
HTC Audio Manager Today Plug-in
SPB Mobile Shell2
SPB Phone Suite
SPB pocket Plus4
Tiermann SlideSound
Shape Services IM+SP
PocketCM Keyboard 0.14
SJ Keyboard Skin-Touch
csKB_Cert
Cloudy Fa 2G DialPad
TeddyKing & AX3l ZoomSMS
Storage Program
Total 44.77mb 48.77mb
In Use 31.57mb 38.76mb
Free 13.20 10.01mb
i know,i know i am soooo noob,lol
but i noticed alot of you guys have alot move free space than i do but with more programs/apps/games etc. installed
i've heard alot about this "HARD-SPL" APP, should i have installed that after i unlocked my phone & installed the Apps or should i have installed some of these roms to save more space? gee i'm a noob,i've never had a windows based phone. Ooh BTW i have a 1gb storage card,hopefully gettin into a 4 0r 8gb.
my friend even has an app which he doesn't tell me where he got it or show me on his phone the name.but when he opens his keyboard and closes it,it responds quickly into landscape and back to portrait,REAL FAST. what App is that..he doesn't wanna share his knowledge, that is why i told him about this site but can't find it..wow he newbie..but anyways, hope to learn more & more from you guys...ALL YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME WITH ALL YOUR WORK ON APPS/PROGRAMS,KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
Thanks In Advance for all the help...be safe fellas

G'day Joee and welcome. 1st, the reason other people have a lot more free memory is because they're running a cooked rom... This means that all the bloat programs/carrier crap has been removed and other better apps put in. You can find the cooked apps by going to the wiki and doing a search for hermes cooked roms.
Now, so saying, you need to install the Hard SPL onto your phone BEFORE you flash a new os as this decreases the chance of "bricking" your phone or increases the chances of recovering it if you do(we all have this happen sometime).. I'm glad you asked this before becoming another noob begging for help because he's bricked his phone and cant recover. As I say though, there is still a chance of permanently bricking, no guarantees. If you decide to flash your phone up you need to be aware that if something goes wrong and it has to be returned you may find your warranty voided. However ther are ways to return your phone back to the stock rom if you look.
You may read about radio roms and think you need to flash yours up to the latest... WRONG.... Depending where you are and who your carrier is depends on what radio rom you should have. If you find it works fine, DONT TOUCH IT as mast bricks are caused by flashing the radio rom and having something go wrong during the flash. 9 times out of 10 you cant recover, even with Had SPL.....
Now you're sufficiently afraid of flashing, Please read Mr Vanx's guide as this will REALLY help if you decide to do it. I personally recommend flashing using the sd card method as it is safer and you dont need to kill anyone who even looks at your computer while its flashing. Using the computer can cause hassles with people accidently hitting reset buttons, pulling out usb cables or just a good old fashioned blackout. SD card method just relies on a file on your sd card and the fact you have 50% battery power.. You can find out how in the wiki...
Anyways, if I haven't frightened you off completely, I would suggest , as a first rom, TNT SE. Its a fairly stable rom with a heap of 3rd party apps or if you want LOTS of memory go with a lite rom... Anything from Schapps, Matt_KR(also known as pandora), Faria, K's Pays or PDAViet (many more but you get the drift). Wait for a little while until you get experienced with wm06 before trying wm6.1 - still has teething problems.
Well, Welcome & Happy Flashing......

ultramag69, your pointing me the right way,thanks!!!! also thanks for responding to my thread,i'm glad i ran into this site. you guys are doing lots of amazing things with alot of the apps/progs,all in all you guys are AWESOME!!. i'm glad you answered me before i would had made a mistake and brick my phone. As for the carrier i'm using, i'm using " IMMIX WIRELESS", i think they are associated with Keystone. so once i "reset my phone to factory settings i use "hard-spl" & use a rom, i automatically lose all the "junk" AT&T add to their phones. yeah,free space i guess,COOOL. Oh BTW,what hard-spl do i use? V7 or V9? probably will be hard to find the "lite Rom" as you suggested.
thanks alot for the help again & hopefully learn alot more before i actually do the "HARD-SPL" flash & go modding happy.

Ok, you DONT need to reset to factory. you can just Hard SPL your phone straightway. You can then install a rom as well. Just remember that when you flash a rom you will wipe everything off the phone.
As to what Hard SPL to use, if you read about each one you will find that ver. 9 is for developers, people who muck about and improve things on our phones. We get the benefits later, but if you just wanna start off easy to flash and upgrade I'd go with ver.7. You can upgrade SPL's later if you start to get into flashing hardcore...
If you did some reading you would've found this out. I like helping people, I was where you are now once, but some people DO get nasty if a question is asked with you not looking through the forum first. Chances ae your question has been asked AND answered multiple times over. Word to the wise......
AS for the flashing.... flash Hard SPL off your computer. I find this easiest as it literally takes about 2 secs.... Howver for the rom I would suggest the SD card method(It's my personnel favourite)as its safer than with the pc. If you follow the guide you will need to backup your sd card then format it fat 32... If you've already formatted fat 32 and want to keep all the apps installed and pics etc... on there I've found you can just install the .nbh file directly onto the card WITHOUT formatting and loosing anything. Just remember to ename it to "hermimg.nbh". Put your hermes into bootloader with the card installed and it will automatically detect and start the flash process. Follow the prompts.... MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GREATER THAN 50% BATTERY POWER... very important..
Happy flashing and good luck.....

thanks again
ultramag69, thanks alot & i'm sorry if i asked q's that were answered b4, i guess i would i have to search with the correct wording 0r word...once again thanks for the help..i know i will learn alot from every1 here and who knows i'll be like you guys in no time
thanks again

thank you very much,did my 1st flash rom,i used Faria R32...nice,fast & good storage..you pointed the way for me & i thank you for the help...like i always say,YOU GUYS ALL ROCK!!!

Wifi blocked by Orange (France)

Hi there.
I've just bought a Touch 3g with Orange in France, and even though the box has WiFi written all over it, it appears that I can only connect to Orange WiFi hubs. I have a different hub at home and would like to know whether I can unlock the WiFi function so that it is free to work with any WiFi connection.
I've had a look on here and can't find the answer to my question. I apologise in advance if I've missed the thread somewhere.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
PS - As someone new to this geek lark, I'd also be interested in knowing what programs I really ought to install onto the phone. You're top 5 programmes if you like.

The orange branded phones (if they are the same as the uk ones) have the unique manager not the standard wifi one. So even if you have an orange wifi hub you still don't get a wifi connection (at least not one you can do anything useful with)
Unique is a wierd orange version of voip.
The only way of changing it (i think) would be to flash a new rom to the phone.

Hi,
I got a French Orange phone too that I have flashed to non-Orange ROM, so Wifi works OK.
For programs I would recommend SBP Mobile Shell to replace Touch Flo, and TrackMe to have fun with the GPS ( I find it awesome).
Bonne chance

TrackMe does not work on my Jade (.net 3.5 installed), but I can recommend GPS Cycle Computer as well. Supports a lot of data formats, check the link or the xda-dev-thread for more information.

Thanks very much for all your help. I'll have a look at flashing the ROM and will give that a go.
Is flashing Rom a particularly complicated or potentially phone breaking experience? It's my wife's new phone, and I don't want to live with an angry woman whose phone no longer works

DaM79 said:
TrackMe does not work on my Jade (.net 3.5 installed), but I can recommend GPS Cycle Computer as well. Supports a lot of data formats, check the link or the xda-dev-thread for more information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you install SQL Compact framework as well ?

Billy Ze Feesh said:
Thanks very much for all your help. I'll have a look at flashing the ROM and will give that a go.
Is flashing Rom a particularly complicated or potentially phone breaking experience? It's my wife's new phone, and I don't want to live with an angry woman whose phone no longer works
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it's not complicated ; yes is very much potentially phone breaking
FYI I flashed HardSPLv3 on my phone (see Jade ROM forum) , downloaded the kitchen (idem), built a ROM using htcrt (in the kitchen) and the OS.nb found here http://www.planete-htc.com/index.php?mod=forum&ac=voir&ref=20&cat=220&id=18955, and flashed it. And tada, a stock french phone with wifi access.
Your SPL/ROM will degrade from 1.7 to 1.4 though.

OK. Thanks Gomi. I'll have a look and see if I really want to risk it or not.

Hello @ll.
I have a french Orange Jade too.
The UMA radio ROM make me sick !
But for me, the HardSPL does not work... The RUU progressbar still blocked at 0%.
fyi : I have the SPL 1.71.000 version.
Concerning the HardSPL, i'm not using the original exe, because of the unavailablity of the "server". I use an extracted nbh file of the HardSPLV3.
Any idee ?

fyi : because of specifity of the RUU used to flash the HardSPL, you can not use an another RUU to flash it.
With luck, the HardSPL setup exe have found the server, and now, all is ok !

Hi mate and welcome to the slippery slope. I only have Dad to convert now...
There may be another way to prevent the Orange rubbish crippling your phone - when you do a hard reset your phone will give you three seconds after the first boot-up before it begins to customise the ROM with all the operator-specific stuff. If you do a soft reset within those three seconds you prevent the customisation. If the crippled WiFi is part of this customisation then you'll end up with the default Windows Mobile WiFi manager. This trick used to work on my Universal and my Elf. You can experiment with many hard resets until you get it right.
Having created a vanilla Windows Mobile system you may need to fanny around unlocking the extended ROM and cherry-picking the customisations that you do want (such as the GPRS connection data) but this effort might be worth it to have an unbranded phone.
Flashing a new ROM will almost certainly invalidate your warranty.
(Oh, and a hard reset will wipe off all your data of course.)

Thanks SiliconS.
Have tried that and I don't get the 3 second warning. I just get a message saying that this will wipe the phone (hard reset) and asks me to press 'enter' to continue (which I obviously do). It then tells me:
Format FAT partition
FAT partition complete
before carrying on with all the Orange stuff. Have tried randomly pressing soft reset at various times, and all this does is turn the phone off...
Thanks anyway though.

That's weird. In that case Orange must have embedded their rubbish within the fundamental ROM rather than the extended ROM like everybody else does.
Flashing a completely new ROM may be your only hope, Luke. HTC have released an official ROM for the Jade that surely wouldn't invalidate your warranty...
http://www.htc.com/www/SupportDownload.aspx?p_id=174&cat=2&dl_id=537

I think an official ROM update could be the way forward yeah. I'll have a look this weekend maybe.

for the benefit of people who may be subscribed to this thread, I think I have found a fix for the orange rom using data connection instead of wifi, read on here:-
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4517074&postcount=12
post back to that thread if it works for you!

Request - Complete N00b's Guide to flashing HTC Touch Viva to Win Mo 6.5

People,
Problem: I want to upgrade my HTC Touch Viva to Win Mo 6.5.
Riders: I want to ensure that if required, I can flash the HTC original ROM that the company gave on phone. I have already downloaded original ROM from amarkangda 's thread.
My Status: I had an Asus P320 which I had upgraded to Win Mo 6.5. It involved copying the flash.bin (or whatever it was) to mem card, boot it with some keys pressed (service mode or somethin like that) and it took on from there.
Requirements: I am too confused with SPL and what not since this is my first HTC phone. Can anyone please provide a complete step by step (Bullet Point wise) guide as to what I have to do to upgrade the phone to Windows Mobile 6.5.
I tried the search function but was not able to find anything. If there is something and you know a link to it, please provide it. I will be highly obliged.

do hard reset fast
see the link for flashing ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=446446)

I Agree
I think that "The N00b's Guide to Flashing Opal" really is needed...
i mean, yes, there are a couple of guides with some information on "how to" but nothing complete and simple enough for noobs... there are a lot of new HTC users that have never flashed a phone before and have no idea how to do it, and even some experienced users on flashing other brands (mi personal experience, i used to flash motorola V3, Z6 and L7i) but get really lost when it comes to flashing HTC.
And after i learned i tried to help other new users but without success (see post 4 and 5 here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=638911).
A complete guide should be made with all the terminology explained, the most common methods to flash, where to find stock roms, what kind of custom roms are there (ej. Light rom, cooked rom, what winmo ver is it using and pros and cons on all of them, etc.) all the software needed and a step by step guide with FAQ included. it should be community maintained to keep it always up-to-date.
I'll offer my help for anything needed and for Spanish translation.

@ mehulkarate
@mehulkarate
i'm sorry that this is just a copy and paste (and a bit of editing) from another post that i wrote, but i'll be easier for you:
I had the exact same problem when i first started to flash htc opal... didn't know how to do it, and didn't know what rom to use... maybe someone should create a complete, step by step guide (flashing opal for dummies) and post it as sticky...
ok, here it goes...
Flashing:
0.- if you'll be using a cooked rom (a modified Rom), you'll need to do a hardSPL. check here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=446446 (HardSPL is basically the way to remove the drm lock on the phone)
1.- Make sure that you have activesync if you are using windows xp or windows device manager if you are using windows vista and the latest version of .net framework installed on your pc.
2.- unzip the new rom files on a folder somewhere accesible (desktop for example)
3.- connect the device as an activesync conection, make sure the battery is charged 50% or more
4.- just run the RUU installer (Rom Update Utility), sometimes named CustomRUU.
5.- Follow the onscreen instructions.
YOU ARE DONE.
that's it... no complications, no special drivers, no weird commands or files to copy and paste. so simple. Just one thing: make sure you don't disconect usb during rom update.
so, resumed: Download Rom, Connect activesync, run RUU, done.
About what's the best 6.5 rom: PhamQuang. check for the latest on the rom development section. but different users will recommend different roms, so i'll recommend to try several before sticking to a particular one.

great...
su8044 said:
@mehulkarate
0.- if you'll be using a cooked rom (a modified Rom), you'll need to do a hardSPL. check here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=446446 (HardSPL is basically the way to remove the drm lock on the phone)
1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if he isn't going to use a cooked rom (modified rom) what should he be doing flashing???
neways...good of you to help noobies out.
@mohitkumar
there is an alternate way to do the same: which one is harder or easier is up to you
RUU (Rom Update Utility) via SDCard (your memory card) search for it in the forum.

Thanks Guyz.
So HardSPL has to be done, there is no escaping doing that?
Do I absolutely need to have DotNet on my PC? (I do not particularly like it, it slows down my PC)
Since I have already upgraded the Asus P320 from SD card, that will always be an option for me. Any ideas or links to rom which i can just put in sdcard, boot in service mode(or whatever with that volume down key pressed thingy) and it takes on from there, no hardspl etc? Just like i did for the Asus P320..
Especially if it saves me from going through installing .net on PC.

Yes
as far as i know: Yes and Yes... there's no scaping hardSLP because that's the one that'll let you install a modified rom... And .Net is needed because all update utilities will use it (HardSPL and RUU)...
But as Freelancer81 said, there's an alternate way to install a custom RUU through the SD card for the Opal too, i'll let you find that out on your own because i have never used that method nor have any previous experience on similar methods.... maybe you wont need HardSPL and .NET this way.
I'm searching for Volunteers to create the noobs guide to flashing opal... anyone willing to help PM me.

Hmm, so i will search for a ROM that can be installed from the card. May be, just may be, it can be done without the HardSPL thing.
If that fails, I will stick it up and go with process given here.

mohitkumar said:
Hmm, so i will search for a ROM that can be installed from the card. May be, just may be, it can be done without the HardSPL thing.
If that fails, I will stick it up and go with process given here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as i know you cant install any cooked rom via SD card with out hardspl only official roms can be flashed via SD without hardspl. Bro if you are so afraid about ur warranty then i would suggest u to use default os for more time, or install hardspl u can retain ur warranty by flashing stock spl when needed.