Database Users

Few question before rooting

Now i heard some peopel say i can go to default rom with sensi UI on telus htc hero but do i need any backup or anything?
Also, is there a root where i can have my mobile save the apps on SD? it really slows my mobile down if i get too many apps on. I dont want to get rid of my sense UI so is there any root that offers both and be able to run telus htc hero unlocked (not rooted yet though)?
Also ive almost rooted my phone but stuck aat step 5
please read following thread
[GUIDE 16/11/09] Get started rooting Telus HERO130! (No need for QMAT!)
I cant get to make the sd card to work to verify its content. It makes me do format and when i do that, everythings clean. what can i do about it?

Um I use modaco hes nice and stable and you get to keep sense. But your stuck on 1.5.
Not sure about the rooting issues though I'll get my mate to talk to you about it he knows things....lol

Custom Rom Advice

I've been lurking in this forum for a while now, and given HTC's "We're not updating the Hero until we've milked the market for every last Desire/Legend upgrade" stance, I've decided to take the plunge and put a custom ROM on my unbranded GSM Hero.
There's just a few questions I wanted to ask before I go ahead, and was hoping some of you would be kind enough to help:
1) If I install a custom ROM, is it possible to go back to factory state? I know some of the FAQ's say its possible to go back to the stock ROM, but does that mean EVERYTHING returns to stock? I know this is apples and oranges but when I flashed a couple of PSP's you have a recovery mode at startup, is anything like this left behind when returning to stock?
2) Is it possible to brick my phone? If so, is it recoverable?
3) Can anyone recommend a fast, stable ROM? I was interested in Damage Control but obviously thats for CDMA Hero's not GSM.
4) I see a lot of people with quite complex issues like radio frequencies and battery problems, what are the odds of having something like that happen? Is it quite rare? Also are radio flashes undone by returning to stock?
Thanks for your time guys, I'll be updating here with my progress/Issues later this evening

Arceon said:
There's just a few questions I wanted to ask before I go ahead, and was hoping some of you would be kind enough to help,.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) If I install a custom ROM, is it possible to go back to factory state? I know some of the FAQ's say its possible to go back to the stock ROM, but does that mean EVERYTHING returns to stock? I know this is apples and oranges but when I flashed a couple of PSP's you have a recovery mode at startup, is anything like this left behind when returning to stock?
- Yes, you can return back to stock state. You are correct, we do use a 'custom recovery console' to flash custom ROMs but this is easily removed by applying one of the official RUU .exe files found at Official HTC Hero RUU ROM Links. Connect phone to PC, run .exe, DONE!
2) Is it possible to brick my phone? If so, is it recoverable?
- I personally have only heard of people bricking handsets when, (1) Installing CDMA ROMs onto GSM handsets (you already know the difference so this shouldn't be a problem now), (2) Interrupting the radio update process (when applying update, phone may reboot a few times, do not touch untill you get the lockbar to pull down to unlock).
Iv had mine for about 3 months now and started as a complete noob but my phone is still living.
3) Can anyone recommend a fast, stable ROM? I was interested in Damage Control but obviously thats for CDMA Hero's not GSM.
- Im using MCR3.2 since day one, its fast and stable, what more could I ask for (apart from android 2.1).
4) I see a lot of people with quite complex issues like radio frequencies and battery problems, what are the odds of having something like that happen? Is it quite rare? Also are radio flashes undone by returning to stock?
- I assume its quite rare, again, Ive had no issues whatsoever. I dont know if running the RUU .exe will roll back to a previous radio or not but you can manually rollback, just use the radio update.zip first, then run the .exe if you need to.
One thing I would recomend,... Make sure you'v charged your battery 100% via the mains adapter (not usb through PC) when applying the custom ROM.

ruu contains a radio upgrade. or downgrade, depends on what you have installed and what ruu you are attempting to install.
you can brick your hero by flashing either a wrong radio or a wrong spl, or by flashing the correct ones of either and interrupt it during flashing.
if it was recoverable it wouldn't be bricked, the definition of "bricked" is that it serves the same purpose as a brick. however in most cases there is the possibility of reviving it via jtag, which is a highly complicated process that involves opening the phone and manipulating with the components directly (you could say "solder in a new processor" to express it in laymans' terms). so usually not worth the effort.

@ddotpatel
Thanks for clearing all that up for me
One thing though, with the official RUU files you linked, do you always just pick the latest one? Also do I need to worry about the "No Driver" description, or is it just run and done?
@kendong2
What would consitute a "wrong radio"? Are they not region-free? Or do you mean if I install a lower version than the one I already have? Also I guess seeing as I don't know what an SPL is I don't need to worry about it?
As for the Bricked term, yes your right. Its just coming from the PSP scene they use the term bricked to describe when the firmware will no longer boot, but the hacked in recovery console will. Bad habits and all that

I dont think the nodriver thing is anything to worry about.
Check the ROM your currently on through the settings menu so you know which one to go back to should you need to. I suppose it would look odd if you tried to return a handset for repair and it had an older ROM than the one it shipped with.
If you use this link HTC Hero Radio ROM Links you will be fine. They aren't region specific, I just used the latest one.
I think what Kendong meant was to make sure its for the GSM Hero not CDMA.
And SPL is the ROM I think, so again, as long as its GSM you're good to go!

Thanks ddotpatel
One last question, on the Recovery ROM thread linked to in the "Complete Newbie Guide" it says in rather large red writing "This recovery is NOT yet fully compatible with the new apps2sd method!".
Does this mean if I install A2SD as in the newb guide it will cause issues/break?

Arceon said:
Thanks ddotpatel
One last question, on the Recovery ROM thread linked to in the "Complete Newbie Guide" it says in rather large red writing "This recovery is NOT yet fully compatible with the new apps2sd method!".
Does this mean if I install A2SD as in the newb guide it will cause issues/break?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, no,... If you follow the instructions in BTDAG's guide to setup apps2sd all will be ok.
The warning is referring to CM5.0.7 which I think is a HTC Dream / G1 ROM so that doesn't affect us guys.

Oh good, bid red text has a tendancy to put me off somewhat!
I've plumped for SLIDEVILLAIN 1.1.0 RC, and have a shiny new 8GB class 6 card on the way, should help with the craving to upgrade to a new phone for a while
Thanks for all your help, I'm sure you'll see more threads from me in the not to idstant future

Arceon said:
Oh good, bid red text has a tendancy to put me off somewhat!
I've plumped for SLIDEVILLAIN 1.1.0 RC, and have a shiny new 8GB class 6 card on the way, should help with the craving to upgrade to a new phone for a while
Thanks for all your help, I'm sure you'll see more threads from me in the not to idstant future
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't suppose you could send me a link of the memory card you'v ordered,... I think I'm gona start researching prices, speeds etc and get a new one myself.
Best I found so far was an 8gig Class 6 Transcend for £14 off Amazon but it doesn't state read/write speeds so am a bit reluctant.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Transcend-m...USDHC6/dp/B001IAMME8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Yeah, Iv had mine 3 months, initially bought as a temp handset to replace my Nokia 5800. Was planning to sell it on again this month and get myself a Desire for my birthday. But you know what,... I'm still really really happy with it. I think I'll be keeping it for another 6 months or so, at least until we get something similar to the HTC Evo 4G or the HTC Incredible in the uk.

I ended up ordering the Samsung one:
Urgh I can't post links, search for "Samsung 8GB Micro SD PLUS memory card Class 6" on Amazon
The read write speeds are in the comments, but to be honest I didn't pay that much attention to them knowing that the class 4 was the recommended speed and that class 6 is 50% faster.
Pretty much the same here, I was happy with it until the boss ordered a Desire and I had to set it up for him. The screen size combined with 2.1 was seriously making me consider one, but I realised if I could just have 2.1 I could hold out another few months.
And yes the Evo is awesome, can't wait for something like that over here, If it doesn't come then I'll be holding out for Froyo instead

SPL is the secondary program loader. Think of it as the bootloader. You don't need to touch it unless you want to replace the initial static bootscreen image.

Unrevoked vs Toast

This may be a lame post, but I keep seeing people talk about how roms will not work if you used unrevoked. I don't understand why there would be a difference. If you root, install a Engineering SPL and a recovery image....after that you flash with whatever you want. Why on earth would it matter? Once you have an Engineering SPL, and your system partition is writable, you can wipe the whole phone and put what ever you want on...why on earth would it matter if you used unrevoked??
Am I missing something? Are people just assuming that you aren't fully rooted?? If so they should really be more clear.

root yes but unrevoked doesnt unlock nand

Maybe I misunderstood, I thought NAND was locked by the HBOOT and I thought that by replacing your SPL with the Engineering SPL you were changing the HBOOT version, thus unlocking NAND.
I don't think Toast's root process does this. I thought it was the same as unrevoked and simply gave your root access to user space on the os via su. I thought that regardless of which version you used to gain your root, you still had to use Toast's unlock nand process to load the Engineering SPL and gain full nand r/w and load a permanent recovery image.
I think this is just a misunderstanding from most people about os level root vs engineering SPL/nand unlocking. If so, I wish people would just start referring to it in their ROM posts as "you must have unlocked nand or be running the engineering SPL" vs tying that in with root, as it's pretty confusing. Maybe I'm wrong though, I haven't had my evo long and alot of my knowledge about root/SPL is from my previous experience with my mt3g.
Thanks

if you just run unrevoked you don't get unlocked nand, so you flash the engineering spl and you get unlocked nand so your not running "just" unrevoked, lots of people run unrevoked and never flash the engineering spl but they think they can run anything and everything, then they are surprised when they can't ... try just running unrevoked without unlocking nand and see what happens. if everything works properly let us know. Unrevoked just opens a hole while in HBOOT as soon as HBOOt is closed poof no more hole. so yes you can flash while the whole is open then try to read write to the /system and see what happens. Sorry this was a jumble ....

I had so many issues after running Unrevoked and even Simpleroot. It was my first experience with flashing new ROMs on any Android phone so I wanted to do it the "easy" way to save time.
The funny part is that I wasted so much time trying to get things working that the 20 minutes I spent doing it all from scratch were no big deal. Wish I had done it that way from the start.
Once I went through the 2 part method posted on this forum I have had no issues that weren't just related to unsupported features.

neodorian said:
I had so many issues after running Unrevoked and even Simpleroot. It was my first experience with flashing new ROMs on any Android phone so I wanted to do it the "easy" way to save time.
The funny part is that I wasted so much time trying to get things working that the 20 minutes I spent doing it all from scratch were no big deal. Wish I had done it that way from the start.
Once I went through the 2 part method posted on this forum I have had no issues that weren't just related to unsupported features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Toasts?
I am pretty sure I want Amon-Ra...and not clockwork though. Hmm.

Sorry, yes it was Toast's method. All of the simplified versions gave me issues where certain things weren't done properly and since I hadn't done it manually with any kind of real feedback it caused issues down the line. I had to start over from the beginning to get things all working properly. Not sure where I screwed up but Toast's method fixed it.
I also use Amon RA's recovery. Only thing about that is that ROM updater that comes with Fresh's ROM doesn't want to work without Clockwork. I'll probably just delete it.

Holy hell... a lot of work

Alright, I have an HTC Magic which essentially acts as my backup phone since I have a Desire. I figured I would try my hand out at flashing a rom on the Magic. Am I missing something, because it seems like a LOT of work. For something that people make out to be so simple, it sure is a pain. Every step I take, I run into issues. At this point I need to:
- Make a Goldcard. (Actually done, I think...?)
- "Fix" my SPL as it's "perfected.
- Update the Radio since the "fix" will apparently mess it up.
- Update the recovery using a customer recovery image.
- Then maybe flash a ROM to it and hope it works.
Am I missing something...or is this WAY more work then people make it out to be. Looking through the forums before starting this... people made it seem like all you had to do was make a Goldcare, copy the rom .zip to it, and use the fastboot method to flash it. I have flashed ROMs on WinMo several times, and it's never been nearly this much run around...even when things mess up. I thought doing this on Android was easier then on WinMo...
So... am I missing something? Is there an easier way that doesn't involve all this run around? Even so, hopefully I have almost everything I need at this point. Is there anything else I am going to run into that is going to cause a need for even MORE work? Any tips here? Thanks.
UPDATE: On trying to flash the SPL "fix" it goes through the installation then tells me that the CID is incorrect. I have tried it 4 or 5 times, using two different cards. It shouldn't be wrong. Any help? Don't understand why it keeps telling me the CID is incorrect. I have noticed though, for some reason, every time I restart the Magic, it gives me a different number when trying to get the CID. Is there a way to bypass this? Have been trying for 4 hours and have gotten no where at all...

Whiterin said:
Alright, I have an HTC Magic which essentially acts as my backup phone since I have a Desire. I figured I would try my hand out at flashing a rom on the Magic. Am I missing something, because it seems like a LOT of work. For something that people make out to be so simple, it sure is a pain. Every step I take, I run into issues. At this point I need to:
- Make a Goldcard. (Actually done, I think...?)
- "Fix" my SPL as it's "perfected.
- Update the Radio since the "fix" will apparently mess it up.
- Update the recovery using a customer recovery image.
- Then maybe flash a ROM to it and hope it works.
Am I missing something...or is this WAY more work then people make it out to be. Looking through the forums before starting this... people made it seem like all you had to do was make a Goldcare, copy the rom .zip to it, and use the fastboot method to flash it. I have flashed ROMs on WinMo several times, and it's never been nearly this much run around...even when things mess up. I thought doing this on Android was easier then on WinMo...
So... am I missing something? Is there an easier way that doesn't involve all this run around? Even so, hopefully I have almost everything I need at this point. Is there anything else I am going to run into that is going to cause a need for even MORE work? Any tips here? Thanks.
UPDATE: On trying to flash the SPL "fix" it goes through the installation then tells me that the CID is incorrect. I have tried it 4 or 5 times, using two different cards. It shouldn't be wrong. Any help? Don't understand why it keeps telling me the CID is incorrect. I have noticed though, for some reason, every time I restart the Magic, it gives me a different number when trying to get the CID. Is there a way to bypass this? Have been trying for 4 hours and have gotten no where at all...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess that I should be moving this to General since this is a Q&A and not a means to simplify what you are trying to accomplish.
Moving to:
Magic General
Discussion about the T-Mobile myTouch 3G, HTC Magic (general Q&A, tips & tricks)

Wow, do I know how you feel.... I recently got a Vibrant (galaxy s). So sine I got a new phone I unrooted my MT3g and sent it in on warranty since it was kinda scratched, so I can give it to my wife. Well with my first phone I was able to do the on click root since it came originally loaded with cupcake.... Well as it turns out if it comes pre loaded with donut you can't downgrade any more...lol So I had to do the gold card method.....it sucked.....

I can't even get stuff to work with the Goldcard. It keeps telling me the CID is incorrect... which it may be, since it gives me a new number every time I restart the damned thing. It can't be this hard to root all Android devices I hope... this is just ridiculous.

Whiterin said:
I can't even get stuff to work with the Goldcard. It keeps telling me the CID is incorrect... which it may be, since it gives me a new number every time I restart the damned thing. It can't be this hard to root all Android devices I hope... this is just ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, its not.... A good example is to root the vibrant you just flash a update.zip file...lol. But the sapphire/magic/mytouch is a great phone with allot of development support. But from what I understand one of the hardest roots..

Well that sucks. Kinda wanted to see how Froyo would run on it, and wanted to get a feel of how it was done before attempting it on the Desire. How did you manage to get the thing flashed?

Whiterin said:
Well that sucks. Kinda wanted to see how Froyo would run on it, and wanted to get a feel of how it was done before attempting it on the Desire. How did you manage to get the thing flashed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the CID error tells me your gold card creation failed.
Check the process description at theunlockr.com. that worked for me.
My first mistake was formatting FAT and NOT FAT32. It must be formatted FAT32.
I used a 2GB PNY and it works great.

yes, our phone (the sapphire, magic, MT3G, whatever the carrier calls it) is one of the craziest to root. I have the 1.2 version that came out after the fender, so by default i need to do the goldcard method. I made the goldcard, but then my daughter dropped my phone, and i had to get it replaced, someone is currently borrowing my card reader, so i have to wait to root the new one.
one step from reading the forums that alot of people miss, is replacing the first two digits of the "gold card id" to 00.. you have to do this, or the thing wont work. at least if you're having issues on the gold card step you're not close enough to the steps that can BRICK your phone...
all i can say is make sure you follow the directions STEP BY STEP, i've seen a number of people who flash the wrong image first and it totally bricks the phone. in my case that would suck, as being on the non-contract plan, i get no discount for new phones.
hope that helps a little.

Yes, the zeros are critical but as I recall theunlockr link above (paste and cut) takes care of that for you. The gold card is the hard part to get right.. The rest is very straightforward.

Thanks for the input guys. Going to try a few more things.

Alright. Following the instructions. Step by step, I am still getting "CID Incorrect! Update Fail!"
This is very frustrating as there isn't any reason it shouldn't be working...

Darklordzim said:
yes, our phone (the sapphire, magic, MT3G, whatever the carrier calls it) is one of the craziest to root. I have the 1.2 version that came out after the fender, so by default i need to do the goldcard method. I made the goldcard, but then my daughter dropped my phone, and i had to get it replaced, someone is currently borrowing my card reader, so i have to wait to root the new one.
one step from reading the forums that alot of people miss, is replacing the first two digits of the "gold card id" to 00.. you have to do this, or the thing wont work. at least if you're having issues on the gold card step you're not close enough to the steps that can BRICK your phone...
all i can say is make sure you follow the directions STEP BY STEP, i've seen a number of people who flash the wrong image first and it totally bricks the phone. in my case that would suck, as being on the non-contract plan, i get no discount for new phones.
hope that helps a little.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to thread jack, you know you can use any GoldCard with any phone, as long as it was made properly.

Any ideas on why this one isn't working then? Saying "Incorrect CID" when I try to flash anything with it.

Not sure. I know it took me 3 tries to get mine working right.
Sent from my HTC Magic using XDA App

[Q] HELP: New phone

Hello all. I just got a HTC HD2 from a friend. It has Windows running on it and then he put android 2.2. Well had gave it to me today and said that when he wiped the info on it today for some reason it wiped the bootloader and now instead of asking which OS I want to run when I start the phone it goes straight to Window. From there I have to manually go to the SDCard and launch it.
How do I fix this issue?
I want to put the Android OS on the Phone rather than the SDCard, is there a simple way to do this at the same time?
And I want to put a new rom anyways on the phone at some point. I rather have Gingerbread running on it, would there be an option to fix this all at once?
I understand the phone to a degree and how it works but rather new to how to do all this at once or in the right order, and what to look for.
ANY HELP WOULD BE AMAZING!!! I need to get this phone up and running by the end of the day. Thanks again.

Hi,
there is no quick fix,sorry.
But all that you want is possible
Patience,reading,more reading and you will get there.
Try starting here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1026437
Good luck

synergeticink said:
Hello all. I just got a HTC HD2 from a friend. It has Windows running on it and then he put android 2.2. Well had gave it to me today and said that when he wiped the info on it today for some reason it wiped the bootloader and now instead of asking which OS I want to run when I start the phone it goes straight to Window. From there I have to manually go to the SDCard and launch it.
How do I fix this issue?
I want to put the Android OS on the Phone rather than the SDCard, is there a simple way to do this at the same time?
And I want to put a new rom anyways on the phone at some point. I rather have Gingerbread running on it, would there be an option to fix this all at once?
I understand the phone to a degree and how it works but rather new to how to do all this at once or in the right order, and what to look for.
ANY HELP WOULD BE AMAZING!!! I need to get this phone up and running by the end of the day. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You already seem so know how to use file explorer to find the android haret download an app that allows you to choose on boot up which os u want 2 to automatically boot into I left windows wen I got the epic.the app is calld bootloader if I remember right. Start there
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

How do I put the bootloader on my phone so it will auto go to android?
Or should I just do the "Flashing Your First HD2 NAND Android Rom"? I am assuming that this will redo everything my friend did and also put it on my NAND? And it will be the latest version?
I need more feedback guys, I don't want to brick the phone, in what order should I proceed?

synergeticink said:
How do I put the bootloader on my phone so it will auto go to android?
Or should I just do the "Flashing Your First HD2 NAND Android Rom"? I am assuming that this will redo everything my friend did and also put it on my NAND? And it will be the latest version?
I need more feedback guys, I don't want to brick the phone, in what order should I proceed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey just click on my guide I have in my sig and read it as it will let you now more about the tools you need to flash a NAND Android ROM. I also have that guide that was linked for you linked at the top of my guide and another very good guide to installing Android to NAND that is posted at the top of the Portal as I gues you would call it a stickie for now as it has been there ever sense Gunjahman wrote it.
Also if you want to stay with a SD card Android build then check out this dual boot app.