Database Users

Why do people keep upgrading ROMS?

I know I am going to cause some trouble by asking this but why?
On taking my new Orange SPV M600 out of the box, I have to agree a bit sluggish, but this was mainly due to Windows.
After a little tweaking with the registry and some third party software it is now flying.
I originally thought that putting third party software over the top of the system would slow it even more, but know, the opposite was true. Using the standard windows task bar and start menu was dreadful. I tried a number of third party softwares such as True Toolbar, Handyswitcher etc, finally settling on Wisbar deluxe.
Everything now opens as soon as it is selected no nasty lag like windows. With some skinning and removal of Customised Today the phone looks great and is performing great. That is apart from my wired hands free. I can now answer and close calls with the button, but it does not activate voice dial when pressed, so I can't dial out hands free. All prevoius phones, Nokia and SE did this no problem, so why not this phone?
Anyway, back to the point of ROMS, why keep flashing?

I just got me one of those SPV M600 things and its not that slow, but I havent added anything else to it yet. Would you care to elaborate on "registry tweaks"? Im new to XDA/phones and havent started messing about yet.

I can not remember all of the tweaks I used, but there is a big section somewhere in here listing them. I have them somewhere on the computer but my filing is a mess and I can't remember what I called the text file or where I put it.
Basically the tweaks are just simple things like increasing cache size for fonts, programs etc. Moving file storage off main memory to SD card, disabling and enabling etc. It is claimed by doing this that the system will speed up a little. I am not sure if any of these actually did anything or if it is just down to Wisbar. All I can say is that when I click on a program it fires up straight away, before it could take a second or two.

Spenner said:
I just got me one of those SPV M600 things and its not that slow, but I havent added anything else to it yet. Would you care to elaborate on "registry tweaks"? Im new to XDA/phones and havent started messing about yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
check out this tread and application
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=39725&highlight=easy+tweaking
good luck
R

Actually, the rule about flashing is: If it's not broken don't fix it.
People upgrade because they want to get rid of bugs or add features like AKU 2.0 that includes push mail and some other stuff.
Also some brands are better that others in some ways, and worse in other ways. There are several ROMs for the Prophet: Dopod, i-mate, Qtek, Orange. Finally some people cook their own ROMs throwing out useless stuff and adding apps they 'must have'.
All in all if you are pleased with your phone there is no need to change the ROM. When I got my Jamin it had the i-mate 1.xx ROM so I upgraded to 2.13 to get the AKU 2.0 goodies.

I always belive the latest is the greatest, even if its not. I still run the latest. While the release notes say "Added this, fixed that" they also contain a lot of fixes and changes not documented.

Hi all.
Thats actually a very good question. From my experience you dont really need to change anything. Maybe as you said some registry tweaking or some basic settings. However as someone already said, the golden rule should be if it is not broken dont try to fix it.
On the other hand you might want to change things with no reason, just because you can.. and I have to admit that it is hard not to do. Then you have to make sure that you know what you are doing cause otherwise you might end up spending your day in forums try to fix whatever you &^%$ up..
Take care.

Thanks for the replies.
I have to admit, when I first got the phone I started tweaking, then I found this forum and others. Once I discovered unlocking and flashing ROMS, I was very close to doing it. Then I remembered what I used to be like on my PC. With old systems like Win ME, I used to spend about 70% of my time tweaking and fixing, and only 30% actually using the damn thing. Not what I want out of a phone.
Just by messing around with skins, I have already managed to lose my phone dialer all together, I was left with a blank screen, so I had a phone that could not phone. I have it nicely skinned and running now, but I was never able to get the Orange dialer back.
Guess the only time I will flash my ROM is when there is a genuine update and it is covered by warranty, that way if the ROM is bad, Orange can give me another phone.
Thanks

I look at it same way as i look at windows.
My windows isn't broke but I always use Windows Update.
Why do YOU update windows, if you do at all. I guess im not sure if this is advisable, but that's just the way i do it.
Regarding upgrading ROM, MOST of the time, it makes the device faster and adds more features ( i never install extended ROM ) so I always upgrade when there is a new one.
I've downgraded ONCE. And only the RADIO because 1.11 didn't agree with my device.
There are ways to Backup the device, change to a different BRAND/VERISON of ROM then restore the backup. This makes changing ROM very easy.
Anyway, I have nothing better to do with my time so i upgrade whenever a new ROM comes out.

Sorry to but in again but I simply must disagree with the Windows update analogy.
I have my PC set to auto update as well, but Windows XP runs updates in the background and doesn't delete you data in the process.
ROM upgrade means HARD RESET, and unless you have a good backup a long restore process.
Also there is the danger of communication / power interrupt during the flashing and a bricked device as a result.
Finlay, like with your radio ROM, some OS updates have new bugs as well as fixes for the old.
But I do wish it was as simple as updating windows - then I would say, update away, couldn't hurt.

My analogy was based only on the reason for updating, not the process itself that you are stating.
What I mean is if your windows works, why update?.... This thinking... Not the "ritual"...
Sorry i did not explain that clearly. The guy just asked why update if you are content with what you have.... It has nothing to do with "I would update only if the process were simpler" like what you stated.
Sorry for the misunderstanding

I upgrade because I can cook my own ROM with better application suite

Jorgee said:
What I mean is if your windows works, why update?.... This thinking... Not the "ritual"...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it's full of holes and most of the updates are plugging them.

I think the main point is you dont have to upgrade, you can if you want, its a matter of choice.
I like to always update, some like to keep the same and have never hard reset in their life. Im on my 9th this week :S but it is a new device and im still figuring it all out.

TheBrit said:
Jorgee said:
What I mean is if your windows works, why update?.... This thinking... Not the "ritual"...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it's full of holes and most of the updates are plugging them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, then i guess your advice to NewSPV is to upgrade.
Me too, as i said in earlier post, i will always upgrade to the newest ROM, then just downgrade if i don't like the changes. Unfortunately it isn't as easy to downgrade from Windows SP2 hehehe

Jorgee said:
TheBrit said:
Jorgee said:
What I mean is if your windows works, why update?.... This thinking... Not the "ritual"...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it's full of holes and most of the updates are plugging them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, then i guess your advice to NewSPV is to upgrade.
Me too, as i said in earlier post, i will always upgrade to the newest ROM, then just downgrade if i don't like the changes. Unfortunately it isn't as easy to downgrade from Windows SP2 hehehe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was talking about Windows, not WM5.
My phone came shipped with an AKU2 rom and it's fine - after a little tweaking. I'm not going to risk bricking my pride and joy with a rom upgrade - as so many people have done already on this forum. :wink:

Can anyone name some good places to read about how to flash your device with a new ROM?
Also, I was wondering about what the "extended ROM" is. Is it basically partitioning part of your storage card for use as "internal memory" ?
Thanks for the info guys!

brounstoun said:
Can anyone name some good places to read about how to flash your device with a new ROM?
Also, I was wondering about what the "extended ROM" is. Is it basically partitioning part of your storage card for use as "internal memory" ?
Thanks for the info guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look at the top left of this very page and you will see a link to the wiki section of this site. How to flash is in there.
The extended rom is where the operator adds thier own customisations (over and above what M$ provide) to the device, for example Orange and O2 add their own options in there and they install when the device is powered up for the first time or when it's hard reset. If you get access to the extended rom (again look in the wiki) you can manipulate what gets installed and if you're really clever, add some of your own stuff.
Don't ask me how to do these things as I have not tried myself, the risk of bricking the device is too great for my liking.

cool, thanks paul

TheBrit said:
Don't ask me how to do these things as I have not tried myself, the risk of bricking the device is too great for my liking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, it is virtually impossible to brick your device by manipulating the contents of the extended ROM. It is only accessed once, during first boot, and event that can be avoided by quickly soft resetting the device.
Basically it acts exactly like "file store" used to on WM 2003 devices, the only difference being it is hidden so ordinary users won't get rid of the operator junk.
In my case it was very nice of i-mate to provide various goodies there like voice dial (should be in ROM) anti virus (not only useless but damaging crap) Skype (could have just downloaded from their site, but nice thought) and backgammon (toys are always welcome).
But now ofter the initial installation it makes all the sense in the world to save these cabs (9MB~) to my PC and have extra 10 MB storage on the device.

Super slow 8525

Hey guys, it's my first post!
I have a super slow hermes. I already cleared storage and and "wiped" the handset. I also check in from time to time and kill programs. All I have is the home screen and black theme loaded up. No ringtones or songs or pics. Oh I do have three pics off my PC. Any ideas?
Thanks yall!
Robert

Oh yes and WM6

Memory is at 21.24 MB 'in use' for storage and 34.18MB 'in use' for program.

what rom? official or cooked?

As far as I know it is an official (I bought it yesterday). The rom is...5.2.1622. We are talking about the OS right?
Thank you for the very very fast response!

robertb6963 said:
As far as I know it is an official (I bought it yesterday). The rom is...5.2.1622. We are talking about the OS right?
Thank you for the very very fast response!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
personally id read through the wiki and upgrade to a cooked 6.1 rom,
these dont include the dodgy bloatware installed with the official roms - hence saving ram etc.

Thanks I'll take a look at that!

Step 1 - Did you know programs, even when closed, keep running in the background? Just go in Settings>System>Memory and select the Running Programs tab. There you can close programs.
Step 2 - Too much Today plugins will slow down the device.
Step 3 - You might have resident programs running. An example is dictionaries with checkup from any program.
Step 4 - You can check for running process. Some programs allows you to see them. Look for unusual stuff here.
I hope it helped.

N1c0_ds said:
Step 1 - Did you know programs, even when closed, keep running in the background? Just go in Settings>System>Memory and select the Running Programs tab. There you can close programs.
Step 2 - Too much Today plugins will slow down the device.
Step 3 - You might have resident programs running. An example is dictionaries with checkup from any program.
Step 4 - You can check for running process. Some programs allows you to see them. Look for unusual stuff here.
I hope it helped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Thats what I meant when I said I checked in and killed programs from time to time. I will keep a lookout for the odd stuff. Thanks again!

robertb6963 said:
As far as I know it is an official (I bought it yesterday). The rom is...5.2.1622. We are talking about the OS right?
Thank you for the very very fast response!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You bought it not so long to accormerdate the "slow response" of WM ? May be you'll find other WM machine has similar responding speed ?
I suggest making a compare to others first.

I had a Moto Q when they first came out and it was pretty slow but much faster than this phone. And my BB 8700C was WAY faster then this 8525. There must be something wrong with it, because when I get a text message and I open the keyboard and hit reply...it takes about two words to catch up to me. Say I type "Hey there", I can finish typing and when I look up it would be on like 'H' or 'e'.

I have the same thing, the official 6.0 At&t OS. I started fresh (no today plugins or anything) and it is the same thing. I was going to post a new thread, but I saw yours... Please let me know what you find out, I will try to find something, this thing is the slowest I have seen. I had a Wizard before, half of the processor speed and it was 3 times faster... Something is wrong. Thank you all for helping! Peter.

I have this problem since upgrading to vp3g v3.62. I had no problems with speed while using vp3g v3.0. I'm sure it has to be something with the ROM/build.

Essential fixes for the Xperia X1

Hi all!
I`m new to this excellent board, even though I`ve been lurking for years. Lots of really skilled people here, awesome.
Anyways, as I`m waiting for my new Xperia I wondered if someone could put together a list of "essential" xperia fixes/add-ons/software, i.e. stuff that should be done right out of the box sort to say?
Nothing I hate more than to use a toy like this for a few months only to then stumble across a fix for something I`ve annoyed myself half to death over.
If such a list already exists, please disregard this post.
N.B: I noticed the sticky list of fixes and tweaks above, just wondered which of these were essential for the basic functions/performance of the handset.

well basicly the X1 just works.
i found my original rom work realy stable but it was also kinda slow. tried some updates and fixes which work but none of them was essential.
flashed a new rom yesterday and i have to say .. wow its like 2 times faster now but also 4x more unstable and acts kinda strange from time to time.
so in short, nothing is needed, all can be done

achmed20 said:
well basicly the X1 just works.
i found my original rom work realy stable but it was also kinda slow. tried some updates and fixes which work but none of them was essential.
flashed a new rom yesterday and i have to say .. wow its like 2 times faster now but also 4x more unstable and acts kinda strange from time to time.
so in short, nothing is needed, all can be done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what rom did u flash to?

Thanks for reply!
But 2x faster, thats kindof a big deal, isn`t it? Especially given that the main letdown of the Xperia (based on the reviews I`ve read) is that it suffers of the typical WM6-lag?
Are there no official OS or ROM-updates from SE (planned or released) that handles these issues? I presume that there`s much potential to unlock just by optimalizing these things?

nawfalah said:
what rom did u flash to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Touch-IT 2.1
but the Opera is pretty messed up plus it hangs from time to time with no reason (simple task closing seems to be enough)
gonna try 2.2 tonight but i dont have much faith
@Doderlei
non official ROM. just keep in mind that if u flash those none official ones u usualy break something else. it is faster indeed, panel switching doesnt have any lag for me now but i dont use panels anyway. also my vodfone internet connection acts strange. IE works fine but the Opera wont open any site unless i set a proxy. my (hard)keyboard is missing the space key when using putty and so on.

Well I don't tweak my device since I rather don't do these things, try to have my device as clean as possible, and those tweaks are always a bit dangerous - IMO...
But for me ESSENTIAL was to install FlashLite 3.1 and YouTube. That added a lot of functionality.
Also, as well as there are still some email sending problems (WM generally), I installed WM email hotfix, and also ProfiMail mail application.
Also immediatley upgraded Google Maps to 2.3 (original od device: 2.1).

achmed20 said:
well basicly the X1 just works.
i found my original rom work realy stable but it was also kinda slow. tried some updates and fixes which work but none of them was essential.
flashed a new rom yesterday and i have to say .. wow its like 2 times faster now but also 4x more unstable and acts kinda strange from time to time.
so in short, nothing is needed, all can be done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense but I don't know how you can claim 2x faster. I have tried all the ROMs here and none seems to feel 2x faster. Even if they were faster, the difference was minimal.

in my opinion if u really want manila kind of interface then only install new rom as manila, tf3d doesn't work in landscape. as Dom said keep it as clean as possible. certain other must do are-
- do all your experiments in begninig of installing or trying apps and then hard reset and clean install all apps which u think u required and working well.
- use cleaning tools like cleartemp req very less memory
- always have backup of device with all settings whenever u feel that your phone is in
best state.spritebackup is recommended.
- separately u may use pim backup utilty for fast backup of pim.
- apply file cache and font cache tweak and clsid tweak as discussed in Martin thread it will significantly imrove speed of x1

outie said:
No offense but I don't know how you can claim 2x faster. I have tried all the ROMs here and none seems to feel 2x faster. Even if they were faster, the difference was minimal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i had an official Vodafone germany rom before.
pressing the panel button took me like 2 seconds till something happend. switching a panel took like 3-8 seconds. opening opera took up to 10 seconds and opening webpages was realy slow.
i did some tweaks then (increasing caache, installed SD tuner, etc) and it turn to be a little faster. but still nothing impressive.
believe me if i say that the touch-IT ROM is like 2 times faster. hecks its 4 times faster
but that could be an all messed up Vodafone ROM. and we all know VF tends to mess up ROMs

achmed20 said:
i had an official Vodafone germany rom before.
pressing the panel button took me like 2 seconds till something happend. switching a panel took like 3-8 seconds. opening opera took up to 10 seconds and opening webpages was realy slow.
i did some tweaks then (increasing caache, installed SD tuner, etc) and it turn to be a little faster. but still nothing impressive.
believe me if i say that the touch-IT ROM is like 2 times faster. hecks its 4 times faster
but that could be an all messed up Vodafone ROM. and we all know VF tends to mess up ROMs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they do? curses... i ordered mine from the UK, and it said it was vodafone-brand (even though it is unlocked to all networks and carriers). does that mean i oughta flash the ROM to something else ASAP?

vodafone usualy locks features, blocks services, adds own software and so on.
WLAN f.e. didnt work with messenger and a few other services. just so u have a reason to buy their messenger flatrates or web traffic. my n95 had the same problems and most of my other vodafone branded one too. its kinda easy to override those brandings in windows mobile, but its also anoying.
you dont need to flash ur phone, but i have to say ... the touch-it is realy freakin fast. just reflashed cmEX GER and its noticable slower. but its german hehe ^^

dhiru said:
spritebackup is recommended.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My question:
As I understand, it can make backup on my memory card, without a PC?
So I can carry with me my backups and open whenever I want??

achmed20 said:
vodafone usualy locks features, blocks services, adds own software and so on.
WLAN f.e. didnt work with messenger and a few other services. just so u have a reason to buy their messenger flatrates or web traffic. my n95 had the same problems and most of my other vodafone branded one too. its kinda easy to override those brandings in windows mobile, but its also anoying.
you dont need to flash ur phone, but i have to say ... the touch-it is realy freakin fast. just reflashed cmEX GER and its noticable slower. but its german hehe ^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah, i see. well, i`ll check it out when it gets here, and if they put in these ridiculous restrictions i`ll just have to read up and try to flash it :S
scary biz.

If bluetooth randomly shutting off for anyone else? I am running jack's 1.04 lite. Does anyone have this problem with the stock ROM? I mainly just wanted a lite ROM with all the junk and panels removed and some performance tweaks done.

check the addons and fixes sticky thread. thers a mort script to fix that problem

doministry said:
My question:
As I understand, it can make backup on my memory card, without a PC?
So I can carry with me my backups and open whenever I want??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes u are right.

achmed20 said:
check the addons and fixes sticky thread. thers a mort script to fix that problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I have seen that, but that is not really a fix. It just checks every few minutes and turns BT back on if its off. Bluetooth shouldnt be shutting off in the first place, especially while I am using it. Is this a problem with all ROMs?

dhiru said:
yes u are right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that's awesome.

Sony ericsson panel add speed dial bugs

Does anyone have this problem?
i've had my phone for about a month now, never use sony ericsson panel that much except when im using wifi, and yesterday i just notice a bug on it.
Go to options (bottom right) then go to the launcher tab. Whenever im trying to add a speed dial the screen would just shows that error reporting thing saying that paneloption.exe has encountered a problem or something.
Is this a bug?
i never use the speed dial thing, so it shouldnt really be a problem...im just curious to know the cause...
so far the software that i have installed are :
all the panels
Slick
Xperia tweak
HTC enlarge start menu
Garmin Mobile XTSchaaps advance configuration tools
any of those might be conflicting?

Something seems to be wrong with your phone but I can't say what it is.
The speed-dial is working without problems on my phone.
I use Xperia Tweak and HTC enlarge start menu too so these should not be conflicting.
Have you updated your firmware to R2A?
Maybe that would be a possible solution and it's always better running the latest software.

yeaa...
Its not that important of a problem, im just crious to find the answer.
I've never touch that area before (Speed dial in the launcher thing) and i was just surprised to see that it just gave me an error report thing.
Im still running the R1A, im still a bit affraid to try any custom ROM..
although itje's ROM might be tempting me in the future..
Just a quick question though, do i lose all my contacts, program, information etc when i upgrade my ROM to R2A?
and im still running the old schaap advance config tool 2.0.2.0, might that be the problem? i'll try to update it later...

mr_sheen said:
Just a quick question though, do i lose all my contacts, program, information etc when i upgrade my ROM to R2A?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You lose everything on the phone's memory when flashing to a new ROM.
All the things and programs on the storage card will still be there but you will have to make new links to the windows programs folder.

cheers mate...thanks for that...
i notice someone else is having same problem as me on this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=477611&page=2
maybe its just some bugs that sony needs to kinks out...but i doubt they'll do it cause they seems to abandon the panels thing now

JAVA & F1-applet?

Currently I'm running the Cell Pro V11 and although I don't think this ROM-version can be the problem, I thought it was worthy mentioning.
I'm trying to get the official F1-applet going that mobile users can download from http://mobile.formula1.com but for some reason it comes up with an OutofMemory-error even when my TP2 has "only" 48% used after a soft reset.
I was wondering if anyone has experienced this as well or that maybe a JAVA-update is in order or that there is some volatile memory that needs excluding in the registry for this app to work.
Really appreciate some answers/pointers from fellow F1-fans.

Same problem for me as well. Haven't figured out what is wrong. Really wish it wasn't a Java applet.

I will look into that. Downloading and testing.

Sergio76 said:
I will look into that. Downloading and testing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Much appreciated Sergio; I know you're quite the busy bee...

In the FAQ section for the TP2 you will find a link to install JavaFX.
The repeat the procedure and you will not get out of memory anymore

Thanks for that; will try later tonight or tomorrow and report back...
/edit: it works... Bit slow though but I will try it out next F1 to see how accurate it is.
Thanks for the JavaFX hint.

Installed fine but unable to login message keeps coming up with unable to find server.
Any hints mates?
stock Sprint TP2 6.5 Sense 2.5.

Woke up this AM in the USA, & lo & behold the app worked for Round 3 of the WCC - Malaysia.
Nice stuff.
Must've been server issues not allowing some of us to connect the last couple of days.
Best advice I can say for Touch Pro2 owners is download the JavaFX & install that before downloading latest F1 App.
Should be able to get the HTC soft keyboard up & running too & u can choose not to use the app's own proprietary soft keyboard.