Database Users

Help for 8125. trying to avoid "killing" the phone

i looked and looked for hours on end, for a few days now, reading posts and looking for answers/ideas. in most of the posts i got confused and overwhelmed by the differentiating opinions/advice/ideas/ and results from various members on a cartain topic or post. i dont even know what is okay to do not to do, use or not use, how to or how not to do anything anymore. im really looking for help on how to, what to, and suggestions. any help that could be given would be greatly appreciated, i hoped this site had a tutorial sections but unfortunately it doesnt unless i didnt look hard enough. thanx again to everyone for reading adn helping if they do. Thank you. I have a cingular 8125 that is carrier unlocked.
Lookin for help with:
what is the best rom to upgrade to and exactly how do it.
-what does upgrading the rom do for the wizard?
- what needs to be done to Wizard before upgrading.
hot to cid unlock the Wizard.
neccessary programs/software for the Wizard
where to find the programs
suggested programs/software for the Wizard.
where to find programs
What are some considered neccessary tweaks for the Wizard.
What do they do. ex-Wi-fi
what to do/ what never to do with Wizard
- ex. never let batter completely die
how to fully customize os
what programs or skins/themes to use.

Well... that's quite a chunk of info you're looking for... let me see if I can bite a little off. I'm not really an expert with phones... but I have been toying with my phone as of late.
Why did I upgrade my ROM? The newer ROMs are supposedly more stable, better memory/storage, faster boots. My 8125 in stock format was a bit irritating by taking minutes to boot, phantom situations where it would get locked up an not receive calls... i.e. similar to a full-blown Microsoft PC and so on. In a nutshell, my phone wasn't too stable. Some people are after features of new flashes such as push mail, stereo bluetooth and so on... I just needed better stability.
I went with a 217 upgrade becase someone recommended as a pretty stable flash. It was in the FTP and noted as basic in the filename. Before upgrading you should backup your contacts and any other stuff on your phone you want to keep. I forgot I had a few pics on my phone from one of my wife's friends birthday party... I still haven't told my wife I wiped them out. I could blame this on a bug I had on the 8125. In spite of setting the memory card as my storage for pics/vids, it stored these pics on my phone.
After backing up, you want to run a program called awizard also located on the FTP. You can CID unlock the phone and back up your current ROM with it. Then you just run the ROM file of you choosing and it does the rest... really quite easy. Thanks has to go out to the guys who made them possible.
In terms of regedits... my fav is the keyboard indicator. It puts a "C" when caps is on and a dot when it is on.
As far as programs, there are a bunch. What do you want to do with your phone. I recently discovered you can stream Sirius on the phone with either SiriusCE or SiriusWM. I am also using my phone as a MP3 player when riding my motorcycle. I am toying with MortPlayer, MusicPlayer and TCMP for that.
There are several theme and Today programs out there. Currently I am running Resco and SPB. Both are a suite of things... I still haven't explored them full yet.
My advice is to just spend some time poking around, that's pretty much what I've done.

Probably the first piece of software you should BUY is something like Sprite Backup or SPB Backup. Get yourself a mini SD Card (mine is a 1gb) and backup your phone to the card. Both programs will make it easy to do this. Now you can experiment to your hearts content with every program or hack available for your phone. When a change works correctly, backup your phone again. Your backup program can be set to keep a rather large number of backups so that problems that surface late can be removed by resetting to an earlier time. Its basically a system restore process like on a regular computer. Dead battery problems, crashing programs, unstable communication settings can all be reset easily.
If you just want to get started with some programs to see how your phone performs, try something like AvantGo. Its free, has a built in alternate web browser and it will keep you busy for at least an afternoon. Everone is seaching for a better web browser and my personal choice so far is Opera for WM5. So along with IE5 I have three browsers to play with.
Adobe reader 2.0 is free for reading PDF files.
Total Commander CE is an interesting registry editor (free) but I think Resco Registry Editor is a more robust program. Start free and check out the pay programs later. You'll decide what you need.
I have SPB Pocket Plus. I like this one for homescreen management. Free trial, go for it....
SmartSkey is a must have for one hand operation of this phone.
I use an alarm clock program called pTravelAlarm from BurrOak Software. Some like it and some don't, it works for me. I've been using it since my MpX200 days.
There's plenty of other stuff out there to play with. Go crazy and try it all. As long as you have your backup program set up first you can't get in much trouble.

New to 8125

Computer nerd for a living, so far I love my 8125... however after reading this forum I'm having urges to tweak.
Current ROM Version is 1.8.11.1 WWE dated 11/24/05
Radio version 1.16.11
the reception has SUCKED in compairison to other phones I've owned -- I know the 8125 has been known to have some reception problems, but no signal vs full signal -- I'm hopeing this is a ROM issue.
Is there a way to figure out exactly which rom is best for me?
Looking for stereo bluetooth, ability to hop onto 802.11g networks (although I know i won't utalize the full speed of them), Want to be able to do push mails.... etc.
Also, where can I find a dictionary to see what you guys are talking about
-A2DP
-g3/g4
(Edit: my IPL/SPL is 1.08 so I guess that means G3
GSM 1.16.11
OS 1.8.11.1)
I'm also open to any suggested "must have" apps for this device.

my advice if your looking for a better ROM to improve reception, there are many interesting comments about the latest one from Cingular having the best radio ROM and all the other features you listed. Molski's ROM is also good and he is a very active member of these forums so if you get stuck you can ask him questions. His ROM has all the features you ask for and more plus its quick! there is a thread around somewhere or try his site www.molski.biz

seriously, just upgrade to the Cingular 2.25 ROM.
It's way better then the original rom, and since it's official, you don't have to monkey around with unlocking anything.
Plus, it'll have the stock cingular settings for mms, edge, etc... so you won't have to program those back in.

Well, I downloaded the current ROM from HTC today and installed it after backing up my data with SPB.
After the flash it booted, but was obviously void of all my personal data/programs.
Ran the SPB exe file to restore the files, now the phone hangs at "windows mible" durring boot.
Soft reset yeilded no results.
What happened?

Ok, did a hard reset and did the restore again, this time not allowing it to change system files.
This is irritating, now I have to start over downloading and installing PPC applications.

doing full restore from previous version system will kill your pda
if there's an option to restore, try to restore PIM, and non-system wide restore
to OP, the old ROM looks like having signal recover issue, same problem with T-Mobile MDA old ROM

Only Sprite Software allows you to do system backups and restores across ROM upgrades, but I've heard even that can be sketchy.

Oh well, guess this time I'll get to be very picky and install only the programs I know I "for sure" want.
New question:
It's irritating that my phone defaults to show ALL of my contacts. I have 100 contacts in my outlook contact file for business reasons (My small business, for ordering stuff, etc). I like the fact that they store to my phone with the notes that I need, however I would prefer to have the phone DEFAULT to show only my Personal catagory.... forcing me to select the business contact catagory as needed.
Is there a way or an app that can do this?

Athena Running Slow Sometimes!

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this anomoly. Sometimes my unit seems to run extremely slow...like several processes are running in the background and hogging all the resources. I make sure that all "Running Programs" are closed and it is not during a "checking email" cycle, my internet history and cookies are cleared too. Sometimes I can click on something and wait up to 20 seconds before the "wheel" stops rotating and it completes the requested task. When this happens, it is 2-3 times slower than my HTC Touch.
Then, there are other times when everything seems to be running fine. Everything is quick and responsive with no noticable delays.
Background: My unit is the European X7500 version with WinMo 6 installed by the "selling store". The only additional programs I have installed are AvantGo, Google Maps, SPB GRPS Monitor, Skype, Sprite Backup and Vito Audio Notes. All were "clean installs" with no error messages and if memory serves correctly, I was noticing symptoms of these issues prior to installing most of these programs. I currently have 81.60 MB storage memory available and 76.90 MB program memory available.
ROM Version: 2.21.405.2
ROM Date: 07/20/07
Radio Version: 1.50.00.00
Protocol Version: 32.83.7020.20H
ExtROM Version: 2.21.405.101
It seems that there is something at work here but I can't seem to put my finger on what is causing it. Is it possible the the installation of WinMo 6 has something to do with this problem?
Although I am a long-time Windows PDA user, I have no experience at upgrading OS's, ROM's or hacking the registry entries (or even reading them for that matter). Any assistance in isolating the cause of this frustrating problem would be greatly appreciated.

Download latest rom!
Hey thats cool, I also have an HTC Advantage and an HTC Touch!
Anyway, I would recommend that you download and install the latest WM6 rom from the HTC e-club site, then install all your programs on the Micro drive. You can also try defragmenting the drive using Pocket Mechanic or similar utillity!
Good luck!

Thanks for the tip branko but from what I understand, I already have the most up-to-date version of WM6 (listed in OP). Also, I do not have a lot of programs installed (6) and half of these are installed on the MD. Defrag doesn't make sense as it is only a couple of months old with very little added and nothing removed.
That's why I am leaning towards something that may not have gone completely "tickety boo" during the installation of WM6. I am just trying to figure out if anyone else has experienced this problem after upgrading before I try a complete re-install of the OS. I was hoping that there is some way to be able to look for whatever is causing this slowdown. Kind of like using Task Manager in XP to see what processes, if any, are running in the background.

GPRS monitor has been known to cause slowness. Try Hard reset and not install GPRS monitor and see if that helps. When I got my X7500, it had GPRS monitor on the CD and I installed it and I had the same issues. Uninstalling the GPRS did not help, I had to Hard reset and then load my apps and not load the GPRS monitor.
I know is sucks to hard reset and have to reload your apps, but since you only have a few, it is worth a try.
Good luck

Thanks eagle 1. That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Too bad if that is the problem because I kind of like the GPRS Monitor. And the funny thing is, I am also running GPRS Monitor on my HTC Touch without problems and 1/3 the processor speed.
I just checked the versions and my Advantage has 2.4.5 build 923 (from original CD) and my Touch has 2.5.1 build 225 (download purchase). So, I wonder if the older version has issues with WM6 and the newer version has fixed those issues.
Well, there is only one way to find out for sure. I will try a hard reset tomorrow when I get some time (too tired tonight) and report back. If I find that this has corrected the issue, I may try loading the newer version and see what happens.
Thanks again.

eagle 1 said:
GPRS monitor has been known to cause slowness. Try Hard reset and not install GPRS monitor and see if that helps. When I got my X7500, it had GPRS monitor on the CD and I installed it and I had the same issues. Uninstalling the GPRS did not help, I had to Hard reset and then load my apps and not load the GPRS monitor.
I know is sucks to hard reset and have to reload your apps, but since you only have a few, it is worth a try.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eagle1,
You've just posted the tip of the day! I've always noticed that my taskbar icon took a long time to change from 3G to H, but never occurred to me that the GPRS monitor was the culprit. After uninstalling it,I already noticed a marked reduction in time taken to change from 3G to H, and my web browsing speed has improved! I'm going to try a hard reset when I got some free time later and see if it improves even further.

Just a question before I "pull the pin" and do a hard reset. I noticed that in the Remove Programs listing it shows Microsoft Office Mobile. A hard reset will not uninstall this, will it?
Also, under the Programs directory, Adobe Reader LE and Windows Live will also survive a hard reset, correct?
Thanks.

anything is the remove programs folder will get deleted but dont worry everything you need including Office is just a link away. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=364366

Ok, I just noticed that MS Office Mobile is actually on one of the CD's that came with the unit. I wondered why it was showing up in the Remove Programs folder. I received my device with WM6 already installed from the dealer so I didn't realize that it's not pre-installed in WM6.
Also, another question regarding the hard reset. I synchronize with Outlook on my laptop and my contact database has about 1,600 contacts. After a hard reset, would it be better to delete my existing ActiveSync partnership and create a new one. Or, would connecting to my existing partnership after a hard reset cause any problems.
I am assuming that because my current partnership was originally set up to sync both ways, that once connected after a hard reset, it will realize there are no contacts on the device and automatically transfer them over from my laptop. Is there anything I am missing.
And one last thought based on eagle 1's tip regarding GPRS Monitor not playing nice, has anyone else come across any other programs that cause problems and I should stay away from? That includes the Sprite Backup Tool included on the disc.

Is there a problem with sprite backup? I don't notice any yet.

Sorry, I should have clarified. I don't know if there is a problem with Sprite. I am just asking if anyone else has found it causes any trouble.
My reasons for asking are that I have just done a hard reset and so far I have not loaded any programs. Once I sync my Outlook contacts back, I will think about re-installing individual programs. But this time, I will do it one-by-one.

Rick76 said:
Sorry, I should have clarified. I don't know if there is a problem with Sprite. I am just asking if anyone else has found it causes any trouble.
My reasons for asking are that I have just done a hard reset and so far I have not loaded any programs. Once I sync my Outlook contacts back, I will think about re-installing individual programs. But this time, I will do it one-by-one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yes, you should reinstall all your program one by one. If not, you'll simply bring back whatever that caused the slow down.

SBP Backup - Hermes to Diamond

Hey all,
Emailing to ask the community's advice and wisdom here.
Background:
I'm ordering an HTC diamond (new contract time). Problem is I install a LOT of programs (about 30/40 medical textbooks, dozens of apps, games, tomtom, loads of custom maps/POIs, multimedia programs, internet browsers, flashcard programs, etc) and setting up a new device takes me litterally months on the time I have available.
Question:
So, I'm wondering if there's a solution I can use which will allow me to copy the files over to my HTC diamond and the appropriate reg entries so that the programs don't all need re-installed.
Then I thought about SBP backup. I've heard it can be used to restore all programs after upgrading to custom ROMs including different WM versions....so can I create a full backup file (they're self launching) copy it to my HTC diamond and run it?
Will I brick my diamond? Is there any way to do this? Or have I got to go through the long long procedure of setting everything up again? (I know I can backup and restore PIM thankfully!)
Thanks again all!
MrVarioII

SPB backup, to restore the apps, also restores the registry. I don't know for sure but I wouldn't chance bricking my BRAND NEW toy on something that I'm not sure of. All the memory and ram is a different size on the Diamond and could be set up differently to the way the Hermes is.
Essentially you have to ask yourself, do you feel lucky...... Well, Do ya?

you won't brick
running the wrong backup will not brick your device under any circumstances. It might not run properly and you will have to do a hard reset, but it will not brick your device.
I have used sprite backup to restore a backed up device on a difference rom and device before.
The first thing I would suggest is to restore the device without restoring the registry.
the only things you should need to reenter are passwords etc for the programs

The programs will need the reg entries surely?
And going back through that number of programs to re-enter the keys is a daunting task.
Other thing I'm thinking is that perhaps there are some custom drivers in the diamond I wouldn't want to overwrite?
Perhaps doing this would sacrafice eGPS or something?
The other potential source of problems is that many programs are installed on my hermes micro SD card.....Is a restore of that data to the diamond even possible? Does the diamond even have an SD slot? (seem to remember it's got 4GB internal memory and no SD slot)...Could be wrong...
All ideas/suggestions welcome

Its better that.....
You need to found new VGA version for app, cause many apps dont supports VGA and the hermes is QVGA, maybe it shows too little or not shown troubles... BTW I recomend you to use the WM5torage and make a backup of your PERSONAL data only, of course on your desktop PC or laptop, apps have VGA and QVGA on most devices and this is the most important incompatibilittie (hahahah i dont know how to said that!!!! sorry)
About wiki and specs about the diamond.... search on wiki men! ask there.... first of all.... search!!! and learn!!! Oh and your thread name is wrong you type SBP Backup jajajaja is SPB!! LOL

The Diamond doesn't have an sd card slot so its a moot point....

[REQ] How to backup manila/phone settings before flashing a new ROM?

I have taken care of my applications backup needs with the great SASHIMI, eveyrtime I install a new app which I know I want to keep, I copy its cab over to SASHIMI's folder, and after some use, I also export the relevant reg keys in the same fashion. This way, I do the job a little piece at a time, and I get a workingand updated backup, also keeping track of single files to copy over with the correct sashimi section (Savegames for example).
Yet there are some things that I cannot quite guess how to backup in order to restore them after a new flash.
These are:
1) Manila/sense settings like my locations, active tabs and their positions, and the alikes
2) Phone settings, like sms/call/whatever tone, vibration, disabling HDSPA, and the alikes
3) internet settings, that is how I've set the mobile connection to always use "office settings" so it never actually uses the internet services of my carrier (I have no internet plan for my mobile)
plus other I may be forgetting and that are on the same level os the aforementioned.
I guess that creating a copy of HKLM/Software/HTC/Manila and all it's subkeys it a starter, but
1) It would only cover (will it?) settings for manila/sense, leaving out those for phone and connections
2) can it be harmful in case I flash another ROM with different version of manila/WM, if I restore undiscriminately old reg values from the previous rom?
Maybe there's a tool that can do this automatically, but what's for sure I could not find it, neither in here nor on google.

noone had the same problem and found a solution?
by the way, yes, this is a bump