Database Users

ROM Madness

I wonder how many people will agree with me. I have spent the last several months playing around with different ROMs -- both 6.1 and now 6.5. I have found that it takes me at least 5 hours to put everything "back in" after uploading a ROM (I admit that I have 20-odd programs and lots of tweaking to do which I cannot automise) and have decided that this is really a waste of time. I am neglecting ACTUALLY WORKING on my phone (I have several projects going; one is compiling a dictionary). My family has also suffered from lack of attention. I find that when I wake up, the first thing on my mind is: Is there a new ROM for me to download today?
So I have stopped this madness. I have gone back to the latest generic English ROM and have started to add various CABs to suit my needs for new stuff For example I have the 'Growing' panel, and lots of other things like the new calculator from 6.5. I think this is the way forward for me. Of course, I just might give in to temptation as the ROMs get better -- who knows? And I will always be grateful to the cooks.
I wonder how many people would agree with what I have just written; would love to read your comments... Thanks

I fully agree with you. I haven't used a single cooked ROM yet, still I have a lot to do with finding the right software for my phone, installing it, uninstalling it again, adjusting the settings, etc. It consumes a LOOOT of time and it definitely has a great impact on my life at this time. Hope that I will have everything I need soon

I would agree if the new roms brought nothing to the table but after using itje's 4.5 rom i can't say i agree. That was just a spectacular development.

I think the ROM developement here is amazing and the proof of people creativity on .xda. I admire it.
At the same time I don't use it.
No time, no need.
Don't want any risk either.
Generic UK is good. I wait for R3.

doministry said:
I think the ROM developement here is amazing and the proof of people creativity on .xda. I admire it.
At the same time I don't use it.
No time, no need.
Don't want any risk either.
Generic UK is good. I wait for R3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't have said it better.

Klaus1960 said:
For example I have the 'Growing' panel, and lots of other things like the new calculator from 6.5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you get a calculator from 6.5? I'm looking for a nice free calculator and that sounds nice
Beside, I agree with you, I think it will coast a lot of time, I didn't install a custom ROM and I'll wait for the official R3AA Rom, I think the custom ROMs are great, and I'm a lot browsing through the threads, but I do need a lot of time...

I agree with you.
I have tried most of the english ROMs for X1. And i tell you the best ROM is the official generic ones(generic UK in my case)
Almost all the cuztom roms out now have problems, little bugs here and there. I like Jacks ROMs best, because he always tries to perfect his ROM. Even the little enhancment tweaks which are posted here, they are not worth it.
Just stick with the official stuff and use the product that are made good developers (like HTC and SPB)

I for one am pretty happy with the nX1i ROM. Its lite and works like a charm.
But yea...its pretty darn annoying to have to install everything back into the device.

Klaus1960 said:
I have found that it takes me at least 5 hours to put everything "back in" after uploading a ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
5 hours? Did you use UC to automate the install process? I had UC for almost everything (e.g. software install, software registration w/ registry or file copying, shortcut moving, customization ....etc) and it take about 20 mins and require no attention. It may take some time beforehand for UC, but worth it since the one time process will work for any UC custom rom w/ any device (w/ minor change) in the long run.
Klaus1960 said:
So I have stopped this madness. I have gone back to the latest generic English ROM and have started to add various CABs to suit my needs for new stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't that you are doing the same thing except it's just on a stock rom (and no UC to automate yr process)?

I am not either a flashing fun.
I ve had 2 WM phones b4 (MIO & ETEN) with very buggy official ROMs. And a good custom ROM could give tones of added value at these old times.
But with X1 things are different. The latest version of the official ROM is quite good. Not any serious issues.
A good reason to flash a custom rom could be if u like Manila (which I don't)
ATM, I am using nX1i which is actually same as the official, except some junks removed and some newer version apps and I am very happy with it.

Why the need for dozens of ROMS?

My understanding is that a cooked rom is a rom that has lots of bit's taken out and then cabs etc put back to make the HD2 run with better performance etc.
But there are so many roms on here, that it has become confusing as to which rom to put on my device. Also what happens when a new legit rom from HTC comes out - doesnt that mean that all the cooking starts again and we end up with thousands of roms?
I would have thought that the additional software installations after installing a new ROM to get the phone in a decent state would put most people off lol.
This is not a dig btw - i have installed a cooked rom, but i think the forum needs to be maybe reshaped a little more i.e. another category with each rom version.

Agree. Would like to see some kind of categories, maybe one for "Featured ROMs", they are cool, gives a hint of what will come, but they might be unstable. One category for ROMs really close to stock, but with minor changes...

i totall agree.. i am a new member as you can see on my number of posts.. i would really like to get to know which rom update is for what and which works best with htc hd2.
need help.

Just do some more research and find what you like.. and use it very often.
Custom Roms are for everybody and each chef has his own kitchen.. and receipe. Someone goes for speed the other for stability.. and some other chef again for a better layout.
I agree sometimes it is difiicullt to see what features are added and to compare which rom suites your needs best, but you could filter it all for you self. Select all Roms that have your interest and filter down to 2 or 3 Roms... then flash those 2 or 3 roms and try them for a few days. You will able to tell which one is best for you
It's up to you which one you choose.. so for lazy people who do not want to search.. stick to the shipped Roms

Bouloama said:
Just do some more research and find what you like.. and use it very often.
Custom Roms are for everybody and each chef has his own kitchen.. and receipe. Someone goes for speed the other for stability.. and some other chef again for a better layout.
I agree sometimes it is difiicullt to see what features are added and to compare which rom suites your needs best, but you could filter it all for you self. Select all Roms that have your interest and filter down to 2 or 3 Roms... then flash those 2 or 3 roms and try them for a few days. You will able to tell which one is best for you
It's up to you which one you choose.. so for lazy people who do not want to search.. stick to the shipped Roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for this one.
It's ur own thing!

Well, All these roms are the personal preference of the maker with some feedback and input from the users. The only way is to decide is read the descriptions and perhaps see what apps are included and mainly, which version of windows mobile (all 6.5 but some the newer 6.5.3(?) version with the taskbar at the bottom and some fingerfriendly stuff), which version of manilla (2.5.1922 is the newest with a document tab but some bugs), etc.
The rest is just a matter of personal preference and trying.

It has always been like this and it works wonderfully... newbs that come here and say this kind of stuff should first try to understand how this forum works and WHY there are so many roms..

Like i said - i agree on the principle of it - but why not create sub forums with rom versions etc so the layout is easier. Being called a newbie because i havn't posted many threads is rather insulting

I really love the way it is now. It gives you freedom to choose, and make your device more custom. I would however like to see alot of cooks go together and create "the perfect rom".. Some cooks go for stabillty, others for speed, someone for visuals. Combine all those chefs recepies and you would have one fantastic rom i believe

I agree with Da9L!
If you spend more time with xda-devs you will see a structure. If i need a WM 6.5.3 ROM i search only for the Sys.Build (28xxx). Very easy.

1. I like having the choice between many different ROMs..you simply have to see what fits your needs the best.
2. Most people stick to their favorite cook because they have similar "taste" and usually you stick with it.
we have many 5-star cooks here and its hard to single out ONE great ROM. There is no universal solution so take a close look at the ROM description and see whats added and removed, look at the bugs and changelogs, the builds and decide if it might be your taste.

i love changing roms in search of features speed and new layouts.. but i always forget which rom was on which version when i last tried it . and now especially with new and different versions of manila and htcsense it is getting a bit of confusing...
I wish if there is a single chart of all roms where they keep atleast some basic information...
like
Name of ROM -- LAST UPDATED-- OS VERSION-- MANILA Version -- Changelog etc
something like this (except its for ANDROID ROMS)
http://db.androidspin.com/android_build_information.asp
tell me what you guys think of this....

Variety
That's like walking into a restaurant and saying, 'why all the different meals?' Or a bar and, why all the different girls? Or why all the different cars? It's the whole point of this site. Viva la difference!

Xaddict said:
That's like walking into a restaurant and saying, 'why all the different meals?' Or a bar and, why all the different girls? Or why all the different cars? It's the whole point of this site. Viva la difference!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True...
But with a menu, you have categories. "Main meals" (full featured rom?) "starters" (clean rom without manila or any addons?)

You just have to have a look at this forum
TheDynamo said:
My understanding is that a cooked rom is a rom that has lots of bit's taken out and then cabs etc put back to make the HD2 run with better performance etc.
But there are so many roms on here, that it has become confusing as to which rom to put on my device. Also what happens when a new legit rom from HTC comes out - doesnt that mean that all the cooking starts again and we end up with thousands of roms?
I would have thought that the additional software installations after installing a new ROM to get the phone in a decent state would put most people off lol.
This is not a dig btw - i have installed a cooked rom, but i think the forum needs to be maybe reshaped a little more i.e. another category with each rom version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You just had to read and learn

the thread title is very misleading based on what the TS has to say
in any case, the current layout is fine. i do not think it is very "efficient" to keep going down sub-menus

It would be nice to have a XDA market were al ROMS and stuff can be rated, that would certainly sort things out

Personally I wish there were more ROMs! Like someone said, this is how its always been, this is how it is, and this is how it will always be.
It would be good if the chefs stuck to the official thread naming scheme.
I was gonna provide a link to it, but cant find it now

Rated by who
nwolsink said:
It would be nice to have a XDA market were al ROMS and stuff can be rated, that would certainly sort things out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only one that can rate the best rom for you is you

What might be the case
Many of the ROM's have no layout customizations and vary
often only a little in included applications, tweaks/driver patches.
If a new user installs a couple of ROM's , chances
are differences aren't all that big, and the question arises, what's the point ?
If one looks at the older devices, one can see an almost vulgair
choice of styled, tweaked and pimped beyond recognition ROM's.
I mean the ROM's where you open the default games folder and there's 10 games, 19 great themes to choose from, 6 clocks, and what's more.
The fact those ROM's aren't available (yet) could be strange to people relatively new to XDA.
Maybe it's something all different
Edit : forgot to mention Xanitechs Pandora ROM which has "styling" (works like a charm for me)

Far too many ROM’s released far too quick!!

Maybe it’s just me but I wanted air my views on current crop of cooked ROM’s. I have been an avid flasher since the glory days of cooked ROM’s from the Hermes (TyTN) era but recently I no longer feel the urge to flash, I guess the novelty has worn off me or I’ve just become a boring old fart whatever but to me it seems that a lot of talented chef feel the need or urge to release a ROM every other day with all the bells and whistle i.e. latest drivers, builds etc…. Quantity rather Quality!! The latest and the greatest does not always mean it’s the best!!!
Initially it’s great to have that choice and flash the ROM of the day until the next, just like a kid in a sweet shop all that choice but surely is it not better to release a ROM a few weeks or month down the line then to release it almost on a daily basis? At least that way one would be able to see significant improvements on the ROM!
I would like to make it clear there are very good cooked ROM’s here that would put some stock ROM’s to shame and with the recent advent of the 576 RAM hack it’s just another valid reason for novice to flash, all I’m saying is can we have more Quality ROM’s then Quantity it’s getting to the point “Too many cook spoil the broth”

well, there are many broths out there, not only 1 broth. So it doesnt matter to me.

i am inclined to agree, up to a point.
I used to cook firmware for LG phones (Viewty / Renoir) and often got accused of releasing too many, sometimes just days apart. My arguement then, and now, is that nobody if forcing you to upgrade.
However, the choice of cooked roms is mind-boggling, and there seems to be no definitive comparison table to easily show the differences between them, and the information supplied with each one is not always accurate. I have only had my HD2 for a week now, (and still loving it ) and i have flashed about 5 different roms, and keep going back to the same one, Leo Lite, by Mr Vanderlay. For me it is the best. And so far, seems to be the fastest for my own useage.
I do think there needs to be some collaboration between cookers to make comparisons easier. And perhaps slowing down releases, just a bit would make a world of difference.
Not naming names or ROMS, but some i have tried are indeed the latest and greatest, but some fundamental things remain broken and are therefore not useable in an everyday situation. This is a PHONE after all, and whats the point of reinstalling everything evry single day?
Find something you like, and stick with it

I think the section should be more organised, e.g. a WM6.5 and 6.5.x subsection with WM build and Manila build specified in tags.

g.lewarne said:
i am inclined to agree, up to a point.
I used to cook firmware for LG phones (Viewty / Renoir) and often got accused of releasing too many, sometimes just days apart. My arguement then, and now, is that nobody if forcing you to upgrade.
However, the choice of cooked roms is mind-boggling, and there seems to be no definitive comparison table to easily show the differences between them, and the information supplied with each one is not always accurate. I have only had my HD2 for a week now, (and still loving it ) and i have flashed about 5 different roms, and keep going back to the same one, Leo Lite, by Mr Vanderlay. For me it is the best. And so far, seems to be the fastest for my own useage.
I do think there needs to be some collaboration between cookers to make comparisons easier. And perhaps slowing down releases, just a bit would make a world of difference.
Not naming names or ROMS, but some i have tried are indeed the latest and greatest, but some fundamental things remain broken and are therefore not useable in an everyday situation. This is a PHONE after all, and whats the point of reinstalling everything evry single day?
Find something you like, and stick with it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course no one is forcing anyone to flash! and yes I do have a preferred ROM, my own custom ROM!

Jack E said:
I think the section should be more organised, e.g. a WM6.5 and 6.5.x subsection with WM build and Manila build specified in tags.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Great idea. I'd love something like that as well. I feel overwhelmed trying to swim through all the choices sometimes.

Hi !
I think some chefs should work toghether creating the best rom ever ;-)Collaboration is the best !!

not wishing to sound elitist, cos im pretty noob at the whole cooking game, but do you not think the lack of a super simple join the dots scheme actually helps prevent accidents by forcing people to do a little investigation themselves?
if it were boiled down to "click here for best rom" people with zero idea what they are actually doing would be flashing like crazy, then complaining when they get a brick.

samsamuel said:
not wishing to sound elitist, cos im pretty noob at the whole cooking game, but do you not think the lack of a super simple join the dots scheme actually helps prevent accidents by forcing people to do a little investigation themselves?
if it were boiled down to "click here for best rom" people with zero idea what they are actually doing would be flashing like crazy, then complaining when they get a brick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think you misunderstood, what we have said is some sort of comparison chart / better named and layed out ROM section would make it easier for everybody. Nobody has stated they want a "click here for the best ROM" system.
eg:
ROM SECTION
--------------------WM 6.5
-----------------------------"Freds rom v1.1" 21889 Manilla 2.5.2010 WWE
-----------------------------"Marys rom v4.5" 21890 Manilla 2.5.1922 GER
--------------------WM 6.5.x
-----------------------------"Andys rom v1.0" 25315 Manilla 2.5.1921 WWE
-----------------------------"Janes rom v2.3" 24001 Manilla 2.5.2010 ITA
whats so wrong with that sort of layout? at least it makes it easaier to find the type of ROM you want rather than trawling through 3 or 4 pages of highly confusing rom names that get all muddled up. Its even worse where some chefs have WM6.5 and 6.5.5 roms with similar names.

Since Leo is currently the most powerful WM device, most cooks definitely would get one, and is understandable lot more cooked roms would be available.
You folks should feel lucky for that. (man, I am still waiting for the NA version...)

jackleung: import one from Australia! 850 3G compatible!
Also, someone tried to create some 'sense' of the ROMs by making www.xdaroms.com but it comes a bit short.
The concept is sound but some things need to happen to make the site great. Namely:
1) Chef support: Dedicated accounts where they can upload freely, add details, etc.
2) UI revision: It looks like the same damn mobile oriented sites we've seen for the past decade

I like the fact that there are many releases and so quickly. I also like the fact chefs are pushing the latest tech to us so quickly even if the rom is not perfect. release early get bug reports release fix etc.. its moving the platform forward and keeping it interesting imho. sure some better organization would be nice but the changelogs on the chefs pages for me do a good job of telling me what's inside the latest creation.
now I have just cooked my own rom I want more faster latest releases of dev branches to play with

I think too that there are too many choices without clear layed out differences between them.
I hope that there were some comparasion but I think its just a matter of variety

There is no substitute for real-life usage bug discovery, so I think releasing newer tech as soon as possible (letting people know that it is sort of beta and will contain bugs) means those bugs can be found and resolved quicker.

Actually, most chefs do tag the topics with WM6.5 or WM6.5.3 and mostly even include the Sense version.
After a while you realize what rom offers what. Personally, i stick with one rom that i am happy with, until the cook changes something that doesn't fit my needs anymore.
Also generally there are concepts to rom design: Some chefs cook roms with particular flavor, i.e. tweaks, hacks, design changes (such as custom task bar, backgrounds, boot splashes), and some just create "stock rom like" roms, that mostly offer either a stock rom with removed junk, or a stock rom with updated components. I prefer the latter.

gfreek said:
Maybe it’s just me but I wanted air my views on current crop of cooked ROM’s. I have been an avid flasher since the glory days of cooked ROM’s from the Hermes (TyTN) era but recently I no longer feel the urge to flash, I guess the novelty has worn off me or I’ve just become a boring old fart whatever but to me it seems that a lot of talented chef feel the need or urge to release a ROM every other day with all the bells and whistle i.e. latest drivers, builds etc…. Quantity rather Quality!! The latest and the greatest does not always mean it’s the best!!!
Initially it’s great to have that choice and flash the ROM of the day until the next, just like a kid in a sweet shop all that choice but surely is it not better to release a ROM a few weeks or month down the line then to release it almost on a daily basis? At least that way one would be able to see significant improvements on the ROM!
I would like to make it clear there are very good cooked ROM’s here that would put some stock ROM’s to shame and with the recent advent of the 576 RAM hack it’s just another valid reason for novice to flash, all I’m saying is can we have more Quality ROM’s then Quantity it’s getting to the point “Too many cook spoil the broth”
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel the same, in fact my new years resolution this year is to only flash stock ROMs!. My HD1 was the worst for it, every other day I would be flashing a new ROM, the pattern would normally go something like this:
Week 1
"Steve" finds a new way of improving speed and creates a ROM including the fix, I flash it but find that a few other things are broken.
Week 2
"Sam" then builds a ROM with the new speed improvement and nothing broken. So I flash it. But then realise that its blisteringly fast, because the ROM has nothing in it!
Week 3
"John" then builds a ROM that looks beautiful and has many applications, but lacks the new speed improvements. I flash, and am back to square one! And the cycle continues...
I don't think its anybodies fault, and I don't want anything to change, but I think that perhaps some of the more experienced users are feeling a little jaded now. Whereas the newer users are still in the honeymoon phase of being able to flash new, varied ROMs! I also think that there is more competition between chef's these days, and users demand the new discoveries in their favourite ROMs. (576mb / 1gz for example), meaning that the cycle is becoming ever shorter, as people are discovering new things almost daily!

it is very hard to flash rom every day this way you cannot keep any data on deice you need to inistall programms every day apply tweaks every day so so hard

Schooleydoo said:
I feel the same, in fact my new years resolution this year is to only flash stock ROMs!. My HD1 was the worst for it, every other day I would be flashing a new ROM, the pattern would normally go something like this:
Week 1
"Steve" finds a new way of improving speed and creates a ROM including the fix, I flash it but find that a few other things are broken.
Week 2
"Sam" then builds a ROM with the new speed improvement and nothing broken. So I flash it. But then realise that its blisteringly fast, because the ROM has nothing in it!
Week 3
"John" then builds a ROM that looks beautiful and has many applications, but lacks the new speed improvements. I flash, and am back to square one! And the cycle continues...
I don't think its anybodies fault, and I don't want anything to change, but I think that perhaps some of the more experienced users are feeling a little jaded now. Whereas the newer users are still in the honeymoon phase of being able to flash new, varied ROMs! I also think that there is more competition between chef's these days, and users demand the new discoveries in their favourite ROMs. (576mb / 1gz for example), meaning that the cycle is becoming ever shorter, as people are discovering new things almost daily!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said, I couldn't agree more!

All true and all the different choices don't make it easier but I do notice I usually stick to a few cooks having my favorite roms...
I mean, I like a certain windows build, certain looks (default white clock, no transparent stuff), some basic apps and functionality, no need for a document tab, etc...
As a result I stick mostly to the Miri roms (and every now and then I try another, now running energy since I really liked that on the touch pro) so once you have your mind made up about what you want in general a number already drops out of the picture.

Wouldn't it be better to ask some of this enthusiastic "chiefs" to help developping Android instead for developping redundant versions of windows mobile in different "flavours". It is just waste of time. We need Android, where the real fun is!

Your honest opinions on cooked ROMs please [Front Page Article]

Hi all,
First of all, I wish to preface this by saying how appreciative I am of the assistance and wealth of knowledge I have found on this forum. Without it, I must say I would have been pretty disappointed with my HD2 n its purely stock form. Much like the appstore is the iPhone's primary selling point, I believe the customisable nature of WinMo devices is their main selling point and is the reason I chose to purchase an HD2 over an iPhone (other than the cost/Tech Specs) of course. This thread is in no way intended to take away from the amazing work our chefs do!
I would also appreciate if any "If you don't like customising, why are you here?" comments off this thread also as that is not in any way what this is about. god knows I have destroyed enough PC BIOSes and mobile phones trying to customise them or tweak them for the maximum achieveable performance before it all became so mainstream.
I know this kind of a question is going to get people into "attack the n00b" mode really quickly, but i feel it is a legitimate question which could spark some insightful and intelligent discussion.
I was just wondering what your honest opinions are regarding the use of cooked ROMs.
At present I am using an up to date stock ROM with many added tweaks including CHT1.7.1 and the tweaked graphics drivers and am more than happy with the way the phone looks and operates. there is no software that is missing from the stock ROM which I feel would benefit me in any way and the phone seems to operate quickly and seamlessly and so far I have not experienced any reliabillity issues.
With a long standing background in the electronics and software development field, I have always been quite a strong believer in the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" principal, but as I consider you guys and girls to be an intelligent bunch with a wealth of cumilative knowledge, I am interested in your opinions on the cooked VS customised stock ROM debate.
From what I can gather the benefits of a well developed cooked ROM such as EnergyROM or CleanEX ROM are as follows:
Menus are neatly organised and catagorised.
Extra software which is considered to be useful is preloaded.
Interface is tweaked (albiet usually no moreso than it can be with a few mods loaded on to a stock ROM)
UI and animation speed improvements.
The arguements against are as follows:
Risk (however low it is) of bricking your device
Compatabillity with different devices
Warrenty is voided (even though this can in most cases be avoided by flashing bck to a stock SPL)
Reliance on one person, or just a few people for updates rather than a huge company.
Personally, I have never used a cooked ROM, but I have been considering installing the EnergyROM on to my HD2 s it is the most closely matched cooked ROM to the way I have customised my stock ROM, however as I am currently quite happy with the way I have my stock ROM set up, I am wondering if there are any extra benefits that I have missed. It would almost seem that in my case, I am better off just sticking with the tweaked stock ROM as it serves all my needs and scouring pretty much any thread relating to a cooked ROM, I seem to stumble upon a LOT of bugs (hich have usually been fixed in subsequent releases).
To me it would seem that a lot of the time, the appeal of cooked ROMs is the "Elite" and "Geeky coolness" factor rather than actual functionallity.
Discuss....

Excellent post mate and I hope it's taken in the spirit it's intended and you're spared all the usual nonsense when questions are asked.
I've been on here a few months, but rarely ventured into the ROM's section, fairly competent with everything in the "Themes + Apps" section and like you, have my phone looking and performing pretty much how I'd want it.
All I'd perhaps want, and the reason I dip in here every now and then for a look, is perhaps a ROM which removes some of the redundant (for me) applications, ie Twitter, Footprints, Stocks etc to perhaps speed things up a little as my RAM is constantly at 60% and I'm getting low on internal storage memory despite installing everything which can be to the SD card.
But again, I wonder if there is perhaps more to this ROM flashing and whether I'd notice any real advantages which I'd not considered?
One other question for anyone who feels like answering, and it will seem silly. Are the softkeys in 6.5xx all aligned with the right hand one set further in than the left (ie non-symetrical), may seem a minor thing, but it just doesn't look right to me and if I was going to flash to something newer, I'd like to know if it can be changed.
Probably complete "noob" type questions, and apologies for partial hijack of the OP's thread, but as someone else had dared to ask some points that I'd like answered, I thought I'd stick my oar in and we can both be flamed together then.

Thanks for the support
I am the admin on another forum so I am not afraid or unfamiliar with flameage!
I'm looking forward to seeing what discussions this sparks

i think a VOTE would be great for this page....

Hi I would think the best advice would be that if you are happy with your ROM and you are not having any issues with it. Stick to it, this way you will have the peace of mind that your warranty is still in tact and you will not have to revert to reflashing to original stock without any risks.
Flashing on the other hand is fun and I feel the ROM cooks do a fantastic job of tweaking them so they work most efficiently. The chefs also remove programs that are not used that often which gives us more memory to install programs that we will actually use and the chefs also update to the newest builds for software which is dorment in the stock roms e.g. google maps,opera etc. If you update these on stock roms, it takes away valuable space due to the programs installed twice (you cannot usually replace the stock ROM versions and overwrite them with newer builds).
Naturally you will get issues cropping up with things going wrong and this is mainly due to the fact that the chefs use the newest builds before they are released officially so you can have a feel of new things that are put into them. I personally like to stick to one or two chefs and follow their progress, this way you will generally be ok as you will be aware of any minor problems and their fixes. If you flash many different ROMs with different chefs, you may encounter different problems with each of their ROMs and feel that ROM flashing seems to cause more problems than solutions.
I hope this clarifies some of your queries.

chiraag said:
i think a VOTE would be great for this page....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I considered it, but I thought a vote makes it a little too black and white. I'd rather a more in depth discussion on the pros/cons

Adiction!!
There's nothing wrong with stock ROM's what a little tweaking can't solve.
and there wil always be problems and things that don't suite you in a cooked ROM.
Bud if you would try it once it wil become an adiction to find the newest and/or the fastest that suite your needs the best.
if you follow the guide's the change of bricking your phone are slim bud there is always the posebilety
I think it's one of the best things of my HTC and no risk no luck.
(bud don't listen to me because i'm an addict)

Well it took a while before I flashed a cooked rom into my phone. I use Artemis roms, and those are the only one I have tried yet - and I really do not think I will ever try another since most of them have silly and ugly mods baked in.... I like the newer 6.5.5 with bigger soft buttons and the "start" down on the left. But the most important thing is speed - with artemis, everything the phone can do, the phone does it faster running Artemis than Stock rom. Often _much_ faster. Starting Opera 10 for example takes roughly 2 secs with Artemis, 5-6secs with stock...

I started to flash custom ROMS because I got sick and tired waiting for HTC to solve my problem with data connection. I tried all sorts of official and unofficial tweaks and patches without success so I decided to take the risk with the flashing adventure.
After flashing a few ROMS from different chefs I eventually found THE ONE that solved my frustrating problem out of the box. Not only that but I was also very impressed by the performance and by the chef himself - always there, always wanting to improve, always fair and balanced. So I settled for it and it's the only ROM I flash to my phone.
I would also like to add that I prefer the close to stock philosopy because I want to do the customization myself. Even so, in my opinion custom ROMS have the following advantages compared to stock:
- you have many options to chose from
- they prove to be faster and more stable
- you have LIVE support from the chef and the other users
- you get updates much, much faster and more frequently (even if beta builds)
- you get all sorts of goodies cooked in the ROM (tweaks, apps, etc.)
- with the ROM I use you also get an app built by the chef himself to tweak the ROM to your likings
- it's rather fun to do it
just my 2 cents

I'm the same as the above poster. I got sick of waiting for my mobile operator to update the ROM (O2). I had SMS problems, data connection problems, freezong problems, the list goes on.
Then i turned into a frantic flasher..up to 5 times a day, looking for the latest and greatest. I was forever setting my phone up and it was taking over my life! I even tried cooking my own with pretty decent success.
I'm now more settled and gone for a ROM thats closer to stock with a few tweaks. It does what i want and pretty quickly too. Its a million miles away from the original phone i got back in early December, but that a good thing.

on a functional level much of the surface features that cooked roms offer could in theory be done with cabs and tweaks, but some things can only be cooked in.
also, cooking in a fix or tweak means it is there from the start, so when you hard reset it the system isn't needing to be patched, so the fix is more stable.(generaly)
on another level many of the chefs really do know a thing or two about building roms and can make them smaller faster and more stable than the stock releases.

I personally never flashed a device...I have to admit that with CHT1.7.1 things been running smoothy and perfectly. The idea of removing some applications on standard ROM sounds really great like footprint,shares,music sense...which i dont use.
As Sentinel196 says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" , i guess i come from the same school in that sense.
by the way with all the cutomization available for CHT i find it really hard if people do not like their htc hd2

I do believe the HD2 is a very good compromise between 'works out of the box' and 'can tweak 'til the cows come home'. It's a modders dream but at the same time probably the only WinMobile device that I thought to myself "I might actually stick with a stock rom, it works"
Curiousity got the better of me... WITHIN HOURS... of getting the device. First off I noticed I was locked to Vodafone's stock rom (it was obviously a Vodafone customer selling on a new handset), I couldn't get the latest rom from HTC so HSPL'd it and flashed to stock 1.66. Good stuff, it was working fine for me.
Then I got curious again some days later and tried 6.5.5. I definitely prefered 6.5 to 6.5.5 and believe it feels much more 'balanced' on a device of this nature (giant screen, few hardware buttons) so decided I wanted to go back to 6.5 after some days of use. I remembered the stock rom did have a lot of 'junk' attached to it, despite operating blazing fast. I found CleanEX on here and from the description it sounded like a good compromise - the stock rom but with junk removed, more 'under the hood' tweaks added and all underlying software updated. Fantastic. I've been flashing to it 'til now and can't see me going anywhere else for the time being.
So yeah, the HD2 out of the box (for the most part, I realise some people have experienced bugs) is a decent device. However, coming here turns it into an AMAZING device capable of just about anything. Having the choice is fantastic. When people ask me about me about my HD2 Vs. the iPhone I can't help but be honest and state 'the iPhone just works', if you want the HD2 to fulfill its full potential you'll need to 'dedicate time to it and be one with your inner geek.'
For people stuck with locked down operator roms, the rom section on XDA is invaluable as it would seem o2 UK (my operator) have ONLY JUST upgraded their rom from the version people were using in Nov '09. Sorry, but that is ridiculous and no customer should have to wait that long for a device like this to have its bugs ironed out when people 'breaking the rules' can have it right off the bat with a bit of a learning curve. Just another reason why operator branded bull**** is a waste of everyone's time -- like movies being released in the US months/years before the UK in the 90s & til mid '00, it took file-sharing to fix that!
I also strongly believe if people are willing to come here and read the 'basic' threads & take a little time out, support here is absolutely second to none. Better than an RMA to HTC, better than your operators forums, just fantastic. This does however support the idea that the HD2 is somewhat another device kept alive by XDA-developers... which I'm sure will become more apparent in the future after WinPhone7 is released.
tl;dr - The HD2 is a HTC phone which, once again, benefits more than anything from the development, tweaks, mods, hacks, customizations and support given here.

Some excellent posts so far. Thanks everyone!! Looking forward to some more insight.
I'm certainly becoming more and more tempted to HSPL and flash a cooked ROM just to satisfy my inner nerd and curiosity!

Until a few weeks ago I was a stock ROM user. To be honest the stock rom was ok but just didnt seem very stable to me with resets a normal part of life. Having looked through the various ROM threads I decided to stick with a fairly stock cooked rom and chose Artemis.
After the first few days it was very apparent that this was the way forward. Artemis transformed my HD2 into what I believe the device should have been, stable and a joy to use.
I think before you can decide on a cooked ROM you need to decide on what you want a cooked ROM for. Is it for stability (in my case) or for added features such as extra tabs, preinstalled cabs etc.
I cant fault Artemis v11, is as stock as you can get with a cooked ROM and is fast, stable and very user friendly but I expect that others will have critism over this ROM against another, like I say there are many great chefs out there and its down to personal choice which is the best.

I love cooked ROMs. This is my first Win Mo device and I have to say when I first got it I was pretty disappointed(December last year). Was pretty damn buggy and slow! O2 UK didn't seem in any hurry to release any of the improved ROMs(not sure if they have even released an update now). I did the various tweaks that people have listed to improve the phone and was pretty pleased with the result. When HSPL came out I figured I would give a cooked ROM ago as if me a n00b doing a few tweaks could make my phone better imagine what pros could do! Flashed Duttys HG series and was blown away! Have been flashing them ever since (tried a few others but always come back to Duttys). It feels nice to have all the latest software bundled up and tweaked for me! Just about to flash from HG v2.5 (COM5) to HG v2.6 (COM5). Will be maybe the 20th time I have flashed my phone Gets better each time

Always cooked. Stock roms are always lacking something... cooked, especially with kitchens allow you to play around and have fun.
Now, regarding the future of cooked roms? that much is very very doubtful. I doubt we'll see many WinMo cooked roms after 2010.

I first had the default ROM 1.43 and everything was allmost OK with little glitches here and there (first of all the battery didn't last long) then I had the official 1.48 update wich I promptly applied and everything worked the same with little things improved (still terrible battery life) then after a couple of months of constants soft resets or taking out the battery for a reset I decided to try Miri's ROMS wich are great (I always prefered the close to stock) but still with battery problems until I learned I can upgrade the radio only without damaging the ROM wich I did and somewhat improved, but just a little, then I tried Dutty's wich are great roms (still close to stock and more stable at least the COM2 version) finally I decided a couple of days ago to give a try to EnergyROM which have additional software and I whent the GTX route, and I really love it, speccially since the battery is lasting me longer with the same radio update as my previous rom and with the lovelly GTX theme but some things like CHT seems to work better cooked in that installed separatedly, in my opinion I think you will have a lot of benefits using a custom ROM, but first use the original rom a couple of months to evaluate if your unit is functional (try everything: FM radio, GPS, light sensor, etc.) and then when you get to know your device try the custom rom of your choice and prepare to be amazed, once you go custom....
Good luck!

Maybe i am talking about the wrong thing here but i will say it. In the HD2 there is very little (if not nothing at all) noticeable difference between stock and custom Rom (except some registry modifications that you can do them with the stock rom as well). It is mainly in the addiction that cooking provides that you can see a difference. In the HTC Touch HD although the difference between stock and custom rom (mainly the Custom Roms that come from the HD2) is VERY VERY BIG. The last stock rom that HTC provide is 1 year old (7/4/2009) with 6.1 Windows, Black and White slider icons, Manila 1.XX etc. So in some cases i thing Custom Rom is more needed that the Stock Rom. But in the case of the ultra-fast HD2 i believe that the difference is much much smaller.

Wow - a front pager!
Sentinel196 said:
I would also appreciate if any "If you don't like customising, why are you here?"
[...]
I know this kind of a question is going to get people into "attack the n00b" mode really quickly, but i feel it is a legitimate question which could spark some insightful and intelligent discussion.
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Sentinel196 said:
I am the admin on another forum so I am not afraid or unfamiliar with flameage!
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Just thought I'd share in case you hadn't noticed; despite your concerns, you managed to make the 'front cover' of XDA-Devs!
http://www.xda-developers.com/​
Next - Time Magazine?!
Good post, well deserved. Enjoying the conversation and Mass-Debating(!).
Hirshy

!!!List of ROMs!!!

Sorry I am new to the whole Phone based world as last phone I had was a Moto Razor as a *nix dev I like things compiled in simple tree. So I was wondering is there a place where I can view the top cooked ROMs with its pro/con's comparing it to others? Searching is pointless as I have no idea what it means and I see so many same posts.
ATM I am using the TmoHD2 with standard ROM. Its tweaked to the max but I hit the limitation of it as most things I want to remove is stored in ROM and can't delete it. So looking for a clean ROM if anyone have suggestion as I am sure many have tried other ROMs please name few for example like linux distro, thanks.

Your really not going to find anything like that. You can find plenty of threads where somebody asks for " what is the best ROM " or something along those lines and you will find that they are all filled with the same type of post. Everybody has a different idea as to what is the best ROM o the cleanest ROM.
Your best bet would be to start reading learning the flash process and start flashing till you find what you like. Or you could start reading on how to cook a ROM and make your own using somebodies kitchen.

For now I am still a virgin in the Phone world it won't take me long before I jump in this bandwagon if I have the time that is, ATM I am busy with our own CVS only reason I got the HD2 is to view source code for our current project as it would be accessible from any where. Also my own P2P client has me pined down thats another convo for another forum, so ya.
I understand as I seen for myself the mess in Rom Dev thread there is so many I was just hopping few people here has at least tried few and can agree on. I don't have the time to play with HD2 ATM as this is the only WinOS I used let it be WinMO 6.5 if it was up to me I would already went on and deployed a linux distro on it but ATM I am not up for that as its a new world for me.

i use energy as there loaded with loads of tweaks programs i like and setup nicley, there is Duttys his are pretty stock, ligh and fast, Miri are good, it depends what you want really there all built up for specific reasons, so take ya pic

Oh I understand the whole to busy thing. I currently use NRG's ROM as well , always seems to do what I want with no issues.
As for linux on the HD2 good luck with that one. There are several Devs currently working on getting Android running on the HD2's hardware. Since Android is based on linux you would run into the same issues they are having, getting the software to run on the new SnapDragon processor.

I appreciate it is a pretty hefty time commitment but for the uninitiated (holds up his hand) it would be really useful to have a list of the main custom roms with a few lines giving a very brief summary of the selling points of that Cooked ROM.
This would allow us to scan down for the things that might interest us and go to the appropriate threads to read further to decide.
As it is, it is rather overwhelming to try to plow through all the threads in the cooked rom section.
For example some might want a similar-to-stock but with better radio functions, faster and stable.
Others whilst prefer ones with lots of flashy things cooked in etc

Well you can feel free to start this thread you so desperately need. As well as keep up on it. The thing is that new ROMs are coming out daily and trying to keep an on going list of these new ROMs would get old fast. Usually each ROM builder will ist what he was trying to accomplish inside of his thread with in the first post. Most will same the same thing. They were going for a fast and stable build.
Like I said before about the only thing you can really do is look over the ROM choose whether you think it is right for you and flash it. Give it a test drive, if it works for what you want great if not onto the next one. Sorry this is not the answer your looking for but unless you want to step up and start making the list then it's not going to happen.

i was after something similar.
I am in need of a cooked rom as i have less than 2mb spare on my phone so need one. However, i have no idea which one to pick.
So if there was a thread with a real brief description of the pro's-cons of each cooked rom that would be a god send.
Please?

Wil Badger said:
Well you can feel free to start this thread you so desperately need. As well as keep up on it.
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There was surely no need to be so arsey about this matter was there?

Ya well sorry if I offended anybody but I'm sure most here would agree with me. It's not hard to read the first few lines of a ROM thread to see if it's right for you. If it's not after you flash it move on to the next one. Ya it sucks having to flash a couple to find the right one but that's the way it is. Keeping up on a list would be a pain in the ass. I also see no point to a list of pro's or cons of any particular ROM as most are built for the same thing, speed and stability. The only real differences you are going to see are what programs the person has loaded.

Wil Badger said:
Ya well sorry if I offended anybody but I'm sure most here would agree with me. It's not hard to read the first few lines of a ROM thread to see if it's right for you. If it's not after you flash it move on to the next one. Ya it sucks having to flash a couple to find the right one but that's the way it is. Keeping up on a list would be a pain in the ass. I also see no point to a list of pro's or cons of any particular ROM as most are built for the same thing, speed and stability. The only real differences you are going to see are what programs the person has loaded.
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tbh mate maybe this is my noobish? But for me it is the fear factor of having never done it before and the fear of 'will i brick the phone'. So the thought of having to do it several times is not something i am keen to do. Maybe after i have done one i will be more laissez faire about the whole idea? but atm i want to do it once and once only.
i dont know the real differences between the roms? Is it really just programmes loaded on them? If it is then what is the quickest and stablest rom?

From what I see most all cook from the same files. Sure some tweak the reg settings a bit here and there while some might not. But for the most part they all do their little thing to make it theirs in some way. Themes that are load, programs that are loaded, and different sms clients. But like I said they pretty much all list their little tweaks in the first few posts, what they have preloaded,etc,etc......
As long as you follow the guides flashing is a simple affair and trust me you will have to reflash several times since going to a custom ROM will usually bring it's own set of problems. And because of this the ROM builders are always updating the builds. Whether it be because a new build version of Windows came out, or they feel some reg edits really make no difference, to change up the preloaded apps to newer build versions. It's on going. Welcome to the world of windows and the ever changing progress.
Now are you starting to understand why a list would be of no use. It would only link to a ROM that would most likely not even be close to what was originally posted upon. Things are always changing and to keep up with that would just be to much. So you flash till you find what you like and you stick with him for awhile or if the ROM works for you maybe you leave it for a bit. But at some point you will come back full circle and you will be looking for something better.
Like most I run NRG roms and have for some time. Sometimes I'll go a month or so with the same build while the ROMs build might have been updated once or twice. So you roll the dice back up the stuff you need and flash to the newest one it could be faster it could have more bugs. You will never know till you try it. If it doesn't work out try another ROM from another builder. No that wasn't it either ok flash back to the last ROM that served you well restore the file you need. Stick with it again for awhile till the urge hits you to try something new.

Ok guys we all knew this was gonna happen j\k
"Best Rom" Threads never last long So it is time to close this one as well.
Here is the best advise I can give you. It envolves alot of reading, Most roms have a list of issues if any in the first few posts. So read over them and then find one that sounds good and give it a go. As far a bricking your device, yes the chance is there but they are slim as long as you read. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.