USA "Nearly Anywhere" Weather for Manila - Windows Mobile Development and Hacking General

I know there are other hacks out there for this, but they have left something to be desired - like not working for newer Kaiser builds. Specifically, HTC used a CNAME to one of their own DNS servers and thus the previous patch that has been distributed here would not fit in the available string space.
The other method, using "Pocket Hosts", does not appear to work on either my Kaiser or Wizard to redirect HTC Home or Manila2D - not sure why, but it doesn't do anything - I tried that as well. My system never sees any packets coming from the mobile when I use the "hosts" soltuion - so it appears that actually patching the string is required, at least in modern (WINCE 6.1) builds.
Anyway, I registered a different domain, then "rolled my own" on that quite-short URL to allow patching some of the Manila2D.exe files that otherwise would not fit, using the existing script from Not2advancd (with a few changes to suit my environment, which is apparently very different than his) and some additional back-end hackery on my systems.
The site is at http://htcwx.org, and there are links there for two ZIP files (attached to this post as well) for two different versions of Manila2D.exe - one that is cooked into the HyperDragon Kaiser build, and the other for a build (OpenTouch V7.7) on the Herald. Both have been personally verified as working. Instructions for modifying the XML file that controls Manila's Weather program are included at the above URL - the short form is that you simply replicate an existing US city in the correct alphabetical order and using the same format as what's already there, recognizing that this is an XML file and thus may (and in fact does) contain some non-ASCII characters (that is, use something like Notepad to edit it, not something like "Wordpad" that will attempt to interpret what's in there instead of just editing the character stream.)
If you have a Manila2D.exe that is not compressed (that is, its approximately 1MB in size - if its ~400kb or so it IS compressed and I can't work with it) I will make an attempt to patch it for you. Just attach it to this thread (make it a ZIP file and upload it) and I will look at it, comment back on this thread, and if it CAN be patched add it to the master list at the above URL so everyone can get to it. Other versions of Manila (e.g. the newer "3d") version) should also be patchable - again, assuming the executable is not compressed.
The weather server on that URL is on a high-bandwidth commercial connection that I control and is at no material risk of going away. It is available to all who wish to use it.
I ask (but obviously don't require) that Chefs that wish to cook a Manila copy into their work and use this weather server let me know, and if possible let me verify that their cooked version is working properly before releasing it so I can verify that all is well on this end. Doing so should not take long; you can reach me by PM here and I will normally be able to get back with you quickly.
Comments and questions on this welcome, along with requests, but please keep them to THIS THREAD.
Enjoy.

Request
Hi!
I'm an Italian Chef for Niki
I use new manila 2D from iolite (v 1_00_19111733_00), but I can't add my city
Can yuo try to patch this exe for me? (it's not compressed)
Thank yuo very much!

The URLs are not in that file.
What you want to do is change the URL to "http://htcwx.org", leaving the entire rest of the string AFTER that alone (that is, you have to "move down" the parameters on the command that is sent.) Once you've changed the file you have to re-sign the file using the code-signing tools (a self-signed certificate is fine) otherwise it will be detected as having a corrupt signature and refuse to run.
A hex editor such as XVI32 is necessary to do the modification; the code-signing tools are available on the net.

I tried uing that hex edior you mentioned... now I need glasses.
even tried comparing a patched file to the one I am trying to patch.. um still confused. finally found the (maybe, but I am willing to try) HTTP//htc..... but then I still had no idea what to do.
Could you please help me figure it out
when I edit the url do I need to have the boxes between the characters? I am asuming yes.
Do I need to "make space" for http//HTCWX.org/acuweather....
sorry. have no ____ing clue what I am doing... and I think I just lost some brain cells trying.

Related

ROM editing questions; delete, versions, files dir

1 Is it possible to delete files (.dll is what I'm after) out of wallaby ROM? I thought I read that it was, but now I can't find that info, mkrom, splitrom, etc info that I see all tells me that you can only add or change..
2 BTW, what's with all the versions of romtools & tools with the same name (but different versions?) in the demokitchen? I assume its good to have the latest and greatest, but I am beginning to rethink my assumption there. When I say versions, I am looking at the dates of said files in either /~itsme/cvs-xdadevtools/romtools or /Wallaby/Tools/CustomROMToolset or /Wallaby/Tools/MKromxxx.zip or http://wiki.xda-developers.com/uploads/mkrom.zip as well as a bunch of different versions of dumprom.exe (win32).
Any particular set that is most functional? I've noticed that a .pl file or two wanted to run dumprom (ELF version) which !work on cygwin, and another wanted .. unicode whatever.. yeah.. In one place or another I had to edit the .pl file & run it under cmd prompt instead of cygwin. Worked swell.
3 So in a set (I think it's the wiki's customrom instructions) of cook-you-own-rom instructions, it says to add neccesary files to files directory. files directory you just dumpromed to. Ok. My neccesary files are MMS files & whatnot. Later in the directions it tells you to run some xipchains stuff, with files1 and files2 directories as arguments. Well, there's nothing in there, since I put them all in files. The ROM builds, but I end up with basically the same rom I started with. if I dumprom it back out, I can't see any of the file additions I did in the new rom.
So I'm gonna assume again, that I should stick my files in files2 for the most part, so the scripts that build xipchains & calc free space etc can do their job & one of those scripts will get my files where I want them. (in the rom!)
TIA
BTW, if anyone is interested in the Arcsoft MMS Composer software not working in LumpiStephans kitchen, you need to grab & install Camera_WWE.sa.cab from someplace, which will install the requisite .dlls to make the MMS software work. Yeah, it's big, and there is no camera on the wallaby, I know. But the EzOS wap browsers MMS software really sucks (for me), and looses parts of the messages from certain people. I dunno if it's their email client, or what.. don't care.
if anyone is interested, I can tell you what DLLs it needs, I sat there for a while checking out the dependencies, and that way you don't have to install as much extra crap, but I don't have it handy right now. lemme know.
squib308 said:
1 Is it possible to delete files (.dll is what I'm after) out of wallaby ROM? I thought I read that it was, but now I can't find that info, mkrom, splitrom, etc info that I see all tells me that you can only add or change..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it is not possible to delete files out of a ROM.....
squib308 said:
3 So in a set (I think it's the wiki's customrom instructions) of cook-you-own-rom instructions, it says to add neccesary files to files directory. files directory you just dumpromed to. Ok. My neccesary files are MMS files & whatnot. Later in the directions it tells you to run some xipchains stuff, with files1 and files2 directories as arguments. Well, there's nothing in there, since I put them all in files. The ROM builds, but I end up with basically the same rom I started with. if I dumprom it back out, I can't see any of the file additions I did in the new rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 14. command (Run "perl makefiles.pl ./files ./files1 0x$size1 ./files2 0x$size2" ) should split the files with best fittings to the corresponding directories....
So perl makefiles.pl ./files ./files1 0x00050000 ./files2 0x00380000
would copy up to 320 KB to files1 and up to 3584 KB to files2......
squib308 said:
BTW, if anyone is interested in the Arcsoft MMS Composer software not working in LumpiStephans kitchen, you need to grab & install Camera_WWE.sa.cab from someplace, which will install the requisite .dlls to make the MMS software work. Yeah, it's big, and there is no camera on the wallaby, I know. But the EzOS wap browsers MMS software really sucks (for me), and looses parts of the messages from certain people. I dunno if it's their email client, or what.. don't care.
if anyone is interested, I can tell you what DLLs it needs, I sat there for a while checking out the dependencies, and that way you don't have to install as much extra crap, but I don't have it handy right now. lemme know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can tell it me, and send me the dll, than i will include it to the Arcsoft MMS-Composer....
Stefan

My very first fully-working cooked ROM for Sprint Mogul!

This is only OS + ExtROM, does not include radio nor splashes nor SPL.
This is basically the same OS+ExtROM as found on Sprint's latest official ROM 3.56, MINUS all that Sprint bloatware (OnDemand, AudibleAir, Sprint Music, etc.) occupying both OS and ExtROM space. I also removed Sprint Navigation and Sprint TV from the ROM and ExtROM (respectively) because I want more control on how Sprint programs are installed (into the device vs into SD card); I have the separate CAB installers for Sprint Navigation (TeleNav) and Sprint TV so I can install them the way I want. I also removed the ringtones from the ROM because I don't like Windows Mobile's approach to copying ringtones from ROM (\Windows) to internal memory (\Windows\Rings) which effectively results in unnecessary file duplication within device memory, but I have stored the removed ringtones into an SD card so I can later add them either to \Windows\Rings (with no wasted copies in ROM) or to \Storage Card\Windows\Rings.
The amount of memory I gained this way was used to (1) update the core fonts (Courier New, Tahoma) to the latest versions found on Windows Vista (the versions found on the original ROM date way back to 1999, even in WM6.1! plus WM only includes regular-face Courier New, I had to add bold/italic/bold-italic versions), (2) add smartphone fonts Nina and Segoe Condensed, (3) add the Windows Vista version of Japanese font TTC MS Gothic/MS PGothic/MS UI Gothic (the AC3 compressed version is still outdated, version goes back to 1999 ), (4) replace the USA wince.nls with the Japanese wince.nls (which includes all charsets found on USA wince.nls + adds Shift-JIS, JIS, and EUC-JP), (5) add the WM6 Japanese IME files, (6) update the SymbolPad's config file to allow inputting almost all the Pan-Euro characters found in Vista's Tahoma and all math symbols included in MS Gothic, (7) add PQzII with some customized bitmaps so you can map CTRL, ALT, and IME to any buttons you want, (8) add PHM RegEdit, Notepad and a few other PPC PowerToys (I also added MADE because it is more powerful than Notepad), (9) add KT_Capt (print screen!), and (10) add FontOnStorage (yes, a very old program that dates back to WinCE 3.0, but still works on WM6.1 as long as the fonts in your SD card don't conflict with those already in internal memory). I preserved Adobe Reader LE, the Camera app, and IA Zip.
I modified the registry entries to (1) enable ClearType and menu animations (but disabled HTC's EnlargeMenu because it doesn't play nice with menu animation), (2) set internet cache/cookies/history to load onto SD card, (3) display both date and time (and AM/PM) in title bar, (4) enable font linking so Tahoma can work together with MS UI Gothic to display full Latin/Greek/Cyrillic/Japanese, (5) enable and configure the Japanese IMEs, and (6) set the new black Vista-like HTC theme as the default rather than WM6.1's solid-green default theme or Sprint's annoyingly-bright orange theme (although both themes are still included if you want to use them).
I used NBHExtract on the original stock ROM to extract the NB files, then NBSplit/ImgfsFromNB/ImgfsToDump to dump the OS, then PKGTool to convert dump to packages, then the usual ROM-kitchen procedures (remove unwanted files, add wanted files/packages with some help from CAB Extractor and InitFlashFiles Generator, modify RGU entries, regenerate DSM files with BuildDSM, modify packages.sof with XVI32, and dump XIP with RomMaster), then BuildOS to "bring packages to a boil" into new dump, then ImgfsFromDump/ImgfsToNB/NBMerge to "simmer" new OS.nb, then HTC Extended ROM Editor to remove the Sprint bloatware from ExtROM.nb, then finally NBHGen to "bake" both OS.nb and ExtROM.nb into the new ROM.
As I said above, the radio and splash image NBs are not included in this 82.2-MB ROM; adding the radio and splashes, the ROM grows to 94.1 MB, which is still 2.5 MB smaller than the stock ROM (even after adding that big, uncompressed Japanese font MS Gothic which is about 8 MB, but that's because the font itself is smaller than the whole combination of OnDemand/AudibleAir/SprintMusic/TeleNav/ringtones).
I thank pof/TheBlasphemer, mamaich/Tadzio, bepe, AnDim, and bot for all the executables they made that made my ROM cooking possible.
For those Sprint Mogul owners who don't want outdated fonts, annoying bloatware, or duplicated-in-device ringtones, my ROM can be downloaded via RapidShare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/144942116/Sprint_Mogul_3.56_OS_ExtROM_only_by_Unicode787Plus.exe.html
congrats! I just cooked my first couple roms a few nights ago, and one for my girlfriends titan too. its fun and addictive!
Sprint Navigation (TeleNav) and Sprint TV installer CABs
For those who download and flash my Sprint Mogul ROM and still want TeleNav and Sprint TV in their Moguls, they're attached to this message. Just copy them to an SD card and install them, easy! (You can install them either into internal memory or into SD, makes no difference!)
Will later post the ringtones I removed from my ROM.
Sprint Mogul ringtones
Ringtones removed from my ROM are attached to this message. For some reason I had to split them into two different ZIP files because xda-developers constantly refused my single 2.18-MB ZIP (even after using Legacy ZIP 2.0 compression method)
MMS
There is no way to add MMS (PIC/VIDEO)? I'm not using the 8525, i have a new MOGUL (SPRINT)
Sorry, I don't use MMS at all (and VERY VERY RARELY use SMS), so I don't know how to add MMS support to Mogul. For that you'll have to ask either mamaich or bepe in either this forum or ppcgeeks.
If I flash your cooked rom.. and I dont like it ... can I flash back the original rom.
mrfordwrench
What is up with the battery icon on the upper right. It looks like it is broken. Is it supposed to be that way. Otherwise everything works great.
What exactly is the PQzII for?
Mrfordwrench
mrfordwrench said:
If I flash your cooked rom.. and I dont like it ... can I flash back the original rom.
mrfordwrench
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can flash back the original ROM - by redownloading it from the HTC website. Same procedure if you try any other custom ROM - like mamaich's or NoChem's kitchens...
Battery icon
mrfordwrench said:
What is up with the battery icon on the upper right. It looks like it is broken. Is it supposed to be that way. Otherwise everything works great.
What exactly is the PQzII for?
Mrfordwrench
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read my private message - that explains the purpose of PQzII.
As for the battery icon, I don't know. If you disable date/clock display on the title bar (either by doing so from Settings or by messing up with the Registry), then you'll see a useless battery icon instead of the clock. HTC's own custom battery indicator (shows only on Today screen) is a bit more accurate, but not as accurate as Palm Treo's own custom title-bar battery icon. If I could somehow copy Palm's battery-icon code (cannot do so directly from the phone - it seems to be copy-protected, and I don't have access to a Treo WinMo kitchen) and transplant it into my next Mogul ROM, then I would be happy.
Hi Dear,
I was looking for the same thing you done. I just wanted to remove some of the programs (like office mobile, pdf, audible air, sprint navigation etc) and not to added anything else to that original rom. The process you described over here is quite short and not elaborative. I tried and reached upto the step of generating "imgfs.bin" but thereafter i was hanged and i could not do any more i.e. dumping, packaging and the reverse process. Can you do me a favour and give some detailed steps or if possible can you give me the link providing details on this as well as all the required softwares (I done all these steps on command propmpt, is there any better way like grapical interfece)
Very eagrly waiting for your reply.
Regards
Tarun Kabra
Cooking ROM
tarun_kabra said:
Hi Dear,
I was looking for the same thing you done. I just wanted to remove some of the programs (like office mobile, pdf, audible air, sprint navigation etc) and not to added anything else to that original rom. The process you described over here is quite short and not elaborative. I tried and reached upto the step of generating "imgfs.bin" but thereafter i was hanged and i could not do any more i.e. dumping, packaging and the reverse process. Can you do me a favour and give some detailed steps or if possible can you give me the link providing details on this as well as all the required softwares (I done all these steps on command propmpt, is there any better way like grapical interfece)
Very eagrly waiting for your reply.
Regards
Tarun Kabra
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you have generated imgfs.bin, you must dump it with a tool named ImgfsToDump.exe. It will create a folder containing the whole dumped image. Then you must use another tool, PKGTool.exe, to unpackage the dump folder into its constituent package subfolders (called packages). Now it's just a matter of removing unneeded files (be careful here, you don't want to remove files that are needed by WinMo itself) and updating outdated fonts (Courier New and Tahoma) with newer versions (you will first need to find on which pacakges they are located, then copy the new versions onto those same package folders) and, optionally, adding new fonts, input methods, or other programs onto the Custom subfolder. You will also need to edit some RGU registry entries (each package may have one) in order to activate some features or input methods. Then you will need to run another tool, BuildDSM.exe, to reprocess the edited packages. Then it's time to build a new dump from the new and edited packages: you will need to download BuildOS for this. BuildOS has a tool called BuildOS.exe, but running such a tool is tricky since you can't just double-click on it (it will crash), you must run it from some batch file located just outside the folder containing the tool; BuildOS.exe will convert the packages back into a new dump. Then it's just the matter of reconverting the dump into a new Imgfs.bin (with ImgfsFromDump.exe), inserting Imgfs.bin into a new NB file (the ROM itself) with ImgfsToNb.exe, then repackaging the NB file into the final NBH ROM with NBMerge.exe.
This is roughly all I can remember. You can optionally seek help from other fellow users, since I learned my technique from one or several of them: mamaich, no2chem, maybe Asukal...

[DEV-UTIL][19.03.2009]DriverWiz - Make signed CABs from driver DLLs that work

Intro
Lately I've seen a lot of posts by people who are trying to replace WM internal or driver DLLs, either for hacking/testing or to release. Aside from the possibility they are just doing something that won't work in the first place, I've seen failure a lot of times because files aren't properly signed, or if they are, the certificate in question not being in the right certificate stores for it to have any effect. On some ROMs it will still work due to patched NK.EXE, on others it won't, its just not very reliable.
So, I present you with the correct way of doing this by means of a small tool that will do this for you: DriverWiz. It will take care of most of the stuff, and leave you room for additions. You will however still need some basic knowledge of the command line, if you don't have that, you have no business doing anything like this anyways.
Background
I use this technique myself all the time. When just hacking away, replacing system DLLs to trace calls, etc. It's also the same method used for the HTC-CA drivers and the ICS installer. This method works on most stock ROMs as well, though not on all of them (in rare cases some security policies are set that will prevent CAB installation)
Usage
It's fairly simple to use. Just extract the attached zip file somewhere, open the command promt, and change directory to where the zip was extracted. That's the installation part.
Now when you actually want to build a CAB file from a DLL, you use the DriverWiz.bat file.
DriverWiz v1.0 by Chainfire
Usage:
DriverWiz.bat "Description" "CAB-name" "DLL-name-1" ["DLL-name-2" ...]
Examples:
DriverWiz.bat "New DDI" "ddi.cab" "ddi.dll"
DriverWiz.bat "Two DDIs" "ddi.cab" "ddi.dll" "ddiaux.dll"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DriverWiz will take care of signing the DLLs, inserting the certificate, etc, and you will end up with a proper CAB file for this kind of thing. Just copy it to your device and run it to install.
#1. You need to put the DLL files in the same folder as DriverWiz. Do NOT include paths in your DLL names
#2. Include the quotes in the command like in the examples!
#3. The first time you install a CAB made by DriverWiz, your phone may still give you a certificate warning. This is normal, don't worry about it.
Caveats
While this method has never failed me yet, it is possible that some files cannot be replaced this way. Just a disclaimer
Modifying
DriverWiz bases the inf file it will create to build a CAB from on DriverWiz.tpl. If you need to add registry entries to your CAB file, modify DriverWiz.tpl before you run the batch file. You can make other modifications too, add files, etc. Just take care that you don't break it
You can use your own certificates as well, instead of the supplied "Dummy" certificate that comes with DriverWiz. The files you will want to modify/replace are DriverWiz.pfx (used for signing) and DriverWiz.xml (used for injecting the certificate). I'll see about finding a reference for how to do that online and posting the URL here (someday). Creating a new certificate from scratch can be a frustrating effort - make sure you got openssl handy
Changelog
19.03.2009 - 1.1 - Added some file exists checks and attribute changes
Download
Temporary PlaceHolder for more Info.
Whoo this is hot from the plate, looks very promising!
Driver testing withoud cooking! joohie
Well if you replace the wrong files you're still going to need to hard-reset to boot. I advise KITL before you do
Works flawless. You tha man.
Didn't work for me trying to cab up No2Chems Fast Charge battery divers.
ruskiyab said:
Didn't work for me trying to cab up No2Chems Fast Charge battery divers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly happened? Attach the files and such
It made the cab and all, but when I went to install it, the unsigned error message popped up just like when I tried it with WinCE cab manager.
That is perfectly normal behavior. The first time you install a CAB with this certificate it will not know the certificate. However, once you install it, the certificate will be injected in the right place, and the files signed with the certificate (the driver files in the CAB) will be allowed to be run.
It won't happen the second time you try it
So if I try to install it again, it'll work fine? is there aa soft reset required in between? I can replace these drivers manually by renaming the old ones and copying them over, the whole reason I want a cab in the first place is to facilitate the UC process when I flash a different rom
ruskiyab said:
So if I try to install it again, it'll work fine? is there aa soft reset required in between? I can replace these drivers manually by renaming the old ones and copying them over, the whole reason I want a cab in the first place is to facilitate the UC process when I flash a different rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it should just work the first time. Just click OK when the certificate error appears.
Nice nice nice work!
error message
I got error messages when creating a cab from a rilphone.dll. Does it mean anything, or are these errors okay? I guess I'm specifically wondering about the SignTool error. If its okay, then my cab should be good.
EDIT: I think I found the problem. I didn't have UAC disabled in Windows 7. I tried it again, after disabling it, and it works fine now. Thanks for the easy to use tool!
syntax for registry entries?
I was experimenting with creating a cab for the Rogers folks who need a specific rilphone for their Caller ID to work. There are some registry entries associated with this feature, so I was wondering what the correct syntax is for putting the registry entries into the .tpl file. I've tried a few different ways, and I've either a gotten a 'Registry section is empty' message, or a 'Registry has an unsupported registry root key' error. I'm sure its something really simple I'm missing, so any help you can offer is appreciated.
It just seems that since we now have this easy method to sign these dlls, so that they can be used in any ROM, that the Rogers people shouldn't have to jump through so many hoops to get it to work.
EDIT: Nevermind. I'm an idiot that didn't do a little bit of research. All is well now.
Excellent stuff, Microsoft may rant about this way of distributing signtool and cabwiz though.
Chainfire said:
You can use your own certificates as well, instead of the supplied "Dummy" certificate that comes with DriverWiz. The files you will want to modify/replace are DriverWiz.pfx (used for signing) and DriverWiz.xml (used for injecting the certificate). I'll see about finding a reference for how to do that online and posting the URL here (someday). Creating a new certificate from scratch can be a frustrating effort - make sure you got openssl handy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's an intro to cert stores for WM:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa458010.aspx
pfx generation is a 2-liner with openssl:
# Generate a CA certificate
openssl req -new -nodes -x509 -days 9999 -newkey rsa:1024 -md5 -keyout cert.key -out cert.cer -subj "/CN=DriverWiz"
# Convert to pkcs12/PFX format
openssl pkcs12 -export -in cert.cer -out cert.pfx -inkey cert.key
got error messages under vista sp2, any ideas?
I also get an error saying that the latest version of CAPICOM.dll is missing. The ones I can find for download from the internet are version 2.0.0, and the tool requires 2.1.0.1 or later.
Does anyone have the needed version of the dll?
EDIT: Found it, 2.1.0.2 version of the dll is in the attachment.
Time Saver !
Many thanks; DriverWiz /w the CAPICOM.DLL saved me about an hour of troubleshooting.
Cheers,
Thanks for the capicom.dll Even after disabling UAC in W7Rc1 it wouldn't go, so great to have it posted to.
Chainfire, which format should the Reg's be added?
I tried the default .reg formating just under:
[Registry]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Profiles]
@=""
"ActiveProfile"="Normal"
?
Scrap that i found the .inf format
[AddRegistry]
HKCU,"New Key","",0x00010001,1
Many thanks for this, i'll try to Point Driver replacing Sinners from now on to here.
Well INF files are a regular female dog.
If you rather use WinCE CAB Manager, the trick is easily done as well. I do not have it handy right here (I'm not at dev box), but it goes like this.
Put the DLL's and EXE's that need to go in the CAB into the same folder as DriverWiz
Execute the following command from the command prompt in the DriverWiz folder: signtool sign /f DriverWiz.pfx *.exe *.dll
Open your WCM/CAB with CM
Somewhere is an option for "Pre XML" (main screen IIRC).. click to add/edit, and load the DriverWiz.xml file
Save
signtool sign /f DriverWiz.pfx *.cab
Et voila. I should really make an update to DriverWiz to include CAPICOM and write a proper guide on how to do all this manually (including making your own certificates and such). It's easy if you know how
If you could insert another empty post for me at the top, that'd be great.

[DEV] ROM Tools

Hi,
I'm currently working on a few tools, and want to know what features would be liked by cooks/users or anyone really.
The first tool is an exe generator for hot fixes. Simply put, you plug some files into it, and it generates an exe that can be run on the target device which will do all the hot fixes.
The advantages it gives:
No more cabs!
Can use a custom icon for the exe if desired
Things like messing around with setup.dll files doesn't need to happen, and an application can be launched after install if wanted
Files can be deleted
File properties can be changed
Can use XMLs
Can edit registry
Can install files
Since it's written in native C++, it should run without a hitch on WM5+ devices, whether or not they have .Net whatever...
The second tool is an AutoRun/UC/whatever like system that simply searches through a folder, finds all cabs/xmls/provxmls and then installs them. This means there's no reliance on autorun for parsing config files, or any other requirements. Again, it's written in native C++ so is better
Any suggestions/ideas would be welcome!
Oh, and once I've got slightly further, both these will be released as open source. Probably.
l3v5y said:
Hi,
I'm currently working on a few tools, and want to know what features would be liked by cooks/users or anyone really.
The first tool is an exe generator for hot fixes. Simply put, you plug some files into it, and it generates an exe that can be run on the target device which will do all the hot fixes.
The advantages it gives:
No more cabs!
Can use a custom icon for the exe if desired
Things like messing around with setup.dll files doesn't need to happen, and an application can be launched after install if wanted
Files can be deleted
File properties can be changed
Can use XMLs
Can edit registry
Can install files
Since it's written in native C++, it should run without a hitch on WM5+ devices, whether or not they have .Net whatever...
The second tool is an AutoRun/UC/whatever like system that simply searches through a folder, finds all cabs/xmls/provxmls and then installs them. This means there's no reliance on autorun for parsing config files, or any other requirements. Again, it's written in native C++ so is better
Any suggestions/ideas would be welcome!
Oh, and once I've got slightly further, both these will be released as open source. Probably.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, this sounds very very promising. Can't wait!
dwizzy130
yeah some user friendly and easy to understand specialy editing the rom or making add/remove programs EASILY is the best specialy to noobs like me when cooking ROMS all in one tool with advance AI for error checking
Sounds very attractive. go on my friend.....
Sounds good mate
I'm looking for a tool to easily make a setup.dll. Like setup.dll maker/generator/wizard.
Seems the only tools I can ever found is from e-pocketsetup, but that company was sold to another company and the product was never available since then.
I know cooks hate a cabs with a setup.dll. But seems without setup.dll a cab installer can not execute some little complicated actions. And it is impossible to make a setup.dll without grasp a computer language like c++.
Edit: Found another one: setupdllcreator , but it's not strong enough and not freeware.
Edit: If these can be realized, a setup.dll maker is much less needed:
No more cabs!
Can use a custom icon for the exe if desired
Things like messing around with setup.dll files doesn't need to happen, and an application can be launched after install if wanted
Files can be deleted
File properties can be changed
Can use XMLs
Can edit registry
Can install files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But we need above mentioned fubctionalities to be DYNAMIC, like:
Can detect availability of certain reg entries or installed apps, base on the result to decide which variants of install files to be installed, or whether some supporting apps like netcf or mortscript to be installed. Or can detect device id, resolutions, drivers to decide what to do.
Otherwise it still can not completely replace setup.dll.
But if dynamic actions can be executed, wow that's a dream of developers & hackers and even common users can benefit from that, a real revolution !
woww can wait for realese
l3v5y said:
Any suggestions/ideas would be welcome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I'm posting my requests again, the idea is this: It will be much helpful if I can know what is happening/changed in the registry after I did anything to my WM devices. So maybe you can develop a tool to monitor & log the real-time changes of registry. Or at least we can have a registry-comparision tool on ppc.
Another thing is it seems we don't have a file structure viewer on ppc, not the stuff like total commander etc., want to export the file structure to a file like .txt or .jpg.
Update: Now my idea is clearer for this, what I suggest would be a System Snopshot program to realize this:
Can make a system snapshot to record the registry content, file structure, ram usage etc.
The snapshot can be initialized in the similiar way of CapSure screen capture program, i.e., a hardwre button, a fixed time, a screen tap, a program launch, etc., defined by user.
Can choose a full system snapshot or only on selected part of registr, file system etc.
Can generate a file containing the recorded system condition.
Can compare any two system snapshot result and generate a comparision chart/change log.
So I've posted my requests as per your request, whether or not you'll do it is not my business lol.
Update: Found SK Tracker, cost EUR9.95, so forget this one. Why I did not know it in the past?!

[HELP] How to register a dll?

I try to create a program which consists of
.asx files (to show online tv channels),
.lnk files (shorcuts to the .asx files) and
a .dll file which contains only some .ico files (icons of the tv channels).
I added all these files to a cab using WinCE Cab Manager and tried to install it on my ppc. So far so good. The problem occurred when the message “The program can not be installed. Choose another location” appeared during installation, just after the process bar was filled.
Although I have no idea about computer programming, I have created many cab’s with WinCE Cab Manager for skins I have created for several programs. Anyway, I realized that the problem occurred due to the .dll file, since this is the first time I add such a file in a .cab.
I created my .dll file using a .dll from another program which had only icons in it, as well. I deleted them using Restorator 2007 and I had an “empty” .dll sized 4KB. Then I added my icon files using XN Resource Editor.
I searched the Internet to see what might be the problem with the .dll and I found out that I have to “register” my .dll file. I really have no idea what this means but it needs to be done. I also found an option in WinCE Cab Manager for “self-registering” file, but it didn’t work either.
So, the question to you dev guys is how can I register my .dll file, or should I create it from the beginning with another way?
Please help! Thanks in advance!
sorry to repost but it seems that posts keep coming in this forum and this thread is already in the second page and I'm afraid that noone will see it and reply to it. By the way, is there any special sub-forum for such questions?
This may help. I use his instructions to edit existing DLL's
http://www.modaco.com/content/i9x0-...88904/lisbian-taskbars-for-i910/#entry1023568
It will unsign the dll which will probably fail on your custom dll but it should sign it when you are done editing.
NilsP
Many thanks for your suggestion but unfortunately it didn't work for me.
As you said, this is mainly for resigning already signed .dll files.
Any other help will be appreciated. I can attach it here if anypne is willing to help. Or just tell me the way. Thanks!
I deploy a few dll's with my app, without any problem. If the installer complains about the location, what did you specify where it should go?
There are 2 approaches to solve this problem:
1.) If you have a private key to match a certificate in the device's certificate store, sign the .dll and .cab with this private key and it will be installed with elevated privledges, and be successful. To facilitate this you can install the "SDK Certificates" - and sign with the matching private key (you should be able to find these on a search, term "SDKCerts" or similar)
2.) Look for an "Application Unlocker" or other security reduction tool, run it, and you should be able to install the cab. On this note, if you check here, it will give you a more technical overview of the security policies. You want to change 4101 / 0x1005 to "SECROLE_MANAGER" (8) - which tells the system to install it with elevated privledges. Also make sure 4102 / 0x1006 is set to 1 to allow unsigned applications.
6Fg8
I don't believe that is the location I specified that causes the problem because when I deleted the .dll file from the .cab, it was installed properly. How do you create your dll files? With programming or you just edit existing files? If I send you my .ico files, will you be able to create the .dll file for me?
Da_G
Thanks but both approaches seem very complicated for me!
So, will I need Visual Basic in order to do this or is there any easier way? Can anyone sign the dll for me?
angelos_cy said:
6Fg8
How do you create your dll files? With programming or you just edit existing files? If I send you my .ico files, will you be able to create the .dll file for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes with programming, C++ or .net. Never had any issue with signing. I can try to make a dll if you send me the icons (or post them here if they aren't too secret ).
6Fg8 said:
I can try to make a dll if you send me the icons (or post them here if they aren't too secret ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have sent them to you by pm. They are not secret at all but I will create a "program" (wannabe ) with that dll and I want that program to be a surprise for users of the forum where I'll post it. I may post it on xda too, but it's nothing important.
Many thanks!
angelos_cy said:
The problem occurred when the message “The program can not be installed. Choose another location” appeared during installation, just after the process bar was filled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This happens because you've changed resources in signed file, which changed file checksum and invalidated it's signature, and Windows installer refuses to install file with invalid signature. But it won't refuse to install this file WITHOUT signature at all - so use unsigner (search for it on XDA) to remove signature completely; if you encounter error, try to remove signature from original (unmodified) file, and then change resources in it...
6Fg8
the_ozyrys
Thanks to both of you!
6Fg8 has created and signed the dll for me and it finally worked, but I also tried the_ozyrys' method and it also worked.
So thanks to baniaczek too, since he created the unsigner.exe.
Everything worked fine with the dll. Now the cab is installed properly.
However, I have another problem. Just after the installation of the cab on my ppc, it seems that the device freezes for about a minute. This is propably because my cab contains a lot of shortcuts (.lnk files) that go under Programs folder.
So, I would like to ask for another favour, if it's possible. As I said I intend to give this cab to others too. Since this delay can make them believe that my program has freezed their device, I would like to make the cab restart the device just after installation and after uninstallation as well. I think this is made with the "Setup.dll" which I don't know how to create.
If anyone knows how to do this and has the time for it, could you please create this setup.dll for me. If the cab is needed to do this, just tell me to send it to you.
Thanks in advance!
Anyone? Plzzzzzzz!
If you want to sign .dll or .exe u can use the apps posted in the two posts below
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=432041
or
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=3530246&postcount=18
raykisi
Thanks for your answer but 6Fg8 and the_ozyrys already helped me on that.
My question now is how to create a setup.dll in order to make my .cab to prompt the user to restart the device after installation and uninstallation. If anyone can do it for me, I can send you the .cab which I alreday created and you can add the setup.dll with those functions.

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