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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.
hi all,
after having a toshiba tg01 on windows, and now a g2/hero in black, after using a combination of goldcard & cyanogens recovery image i now have a freshly rooted handset with eclair rom
i now have a couple of questions just to help me tidy it all up.
1) do i still need to keep the sd card a gold card, if not do i just format it to get it back to stock, and if i do is it ok to use as an everyday mem card?
2) is there anything i should know, such as what to expect now i am rooted?
also can i say what a wonderful job on all the tuts on the subject of goldcards and roms on xda, after being a windows phone only user it was a gentle learning curve to get this rooted and modded.
thanks
phil
I recently got a hd2 off of craigs list for a steal, and the ONLY reason why I got it is to run android on it. But I am having problems getting a android rom to boot, and getting one stable. I have double checked all of my intructions to the T, and I am coming down to two reasons why I cant get mine to work properly.
1. sd card problems, Do I really need a class 6 card? Right now it hangs where the linux boot says, creating a new data store.. it just counts down from 99 very slowly.....
2. I did buy the phone used. so one of my battery prongs on the phone is off set a tad. loose a little. will that affect my android loading?
I have tried to search long and hard before I made this post, but honestly THERE IS ALOT OF INFORMATION TO READ THRU and i justget confused.
if anyone can shed some light on these two questions, i will appreciate it.
You don't really need a class 6. I'm using a class 4 just fine and there are many people who've said the stock 16gb card works. I would suggest pulling all files you want saved off the card and do a fresh reformat to fat32. Then move your files back over and download the version of Android you want to run.
Are you using a stock or custom Rom?
Have your tried different radios?
Have you tried a different build of Android?
All of these variables come into play. Can you provide some more info about your setup? Thanks and good luck. I hope the reformat solves your problems.
Sent from my HTC HD2 via XDA App
I am using the latest energy froyostone rom with his custom wm rom for android. I have only flashed one radio, the one that went with a chucky rom gtx.
the wm rom boots up no problem, i always reformat when I try to flash a new rom, I always wipe the sd card before I try.
Now I need a working phone, so I have my sim in my vibrant when I flash, does that make a problem?
I really cant think of anything else that I have tried. I have gotten a couple of rom's to boot up with android, but when I reboot and install my sim card, the phone will freeze upon wm boot up, and sometimes load android again but goesinto a boot loop within 5 minutes. I am really looking for a good wm /android combo, if I get it running stable the first time, I probably wont flash again until some major breakthru happens.
Edit# switched sd cards. got it to load up one time, then tried to reboot and put my sim card in, phone goes into a boot loop before I can finish set up.
Now it is taking me forever just to boot up to WM
I am experienceing freezes on start up, freezes once WM boots up.
thanks for your advice
I'm assuming you have hacked with hspl.
Check the pins on the battery and try not to pull the battery out as those pins are really fragile. If one is bent it and shorts it puts the phone in a continuous boot loop, not a big deal just straighten the pin out and you should be fine.
I'm using the latest mattcfroyo sense rom ver 16 and had a similar issue where the linux boot would just freeze past a certain point. There is a modified zimage that was posted that completely solved that problem, again an easy fix, just swap out the old for the new. But I have to admit spending about a half day messing with this to get it to work, at one point I almost thought about moving back to wimo - after that nightmare thought I dug in and found the fix.
ok, another update, and thanks for the advice, I took my simcard out, and it booted up android fine, its been up for 10 minutes , no problem.
Are there any sim card issues I need to know about? Should I head to tmobile and get a new one>?
I think I am really close, and I thank you two for tryng to help.
It couldn't hurt to get a new sim. There could be a corruption on your card causing the boot loop.
*Edit: head to any TMO corporate store and they will give you a new sim for free.
Send from my HTC HD2 via XDA app
Devin5277 said:
I recently got a hd2 off of craigs list for a steal, and the ONLY reason why I got it is to run android on it. But I am having problems getting a android rom to boot, and getting one stable. I have double checked all of my intructions to the T, and I am coming down to two reasons why I cant get mine to work properly.
1. sd card problems, Do I really need a class 6 card? Right now it hangs where the linux boot says, creating a new data store.. it just counts down from 99 very slowly.....
2. I did buy the phone used. so one of my battery prongs on the phone is off set a tad. loose a little. will that affect my android loading?
I have tried to search long and hard before I made this post, but honestly THERE IS ALOT OF INFORMATION TO READ THRU and i justget confused.
if anyone can shed some light on these two questions, i will appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try this simplified step by step guide:
Devin5277 said:
I recently got a hd2 off of craigs list for a steal, and the ONLY reason why I got it is to run android on it. But I am having problems getting a android rom to boot, and getting one stable. I have double checked all of my intructions to the T, and I am coming down to two reasons why I cant get mine to work properly.
1. sd card problems, Do I really need a class 6 card? Right now it hangs where the linux boot says, creating a new data store.. it just counts down from 99 very slowly.....
2. I did buy the phone used. so one of my battery prongs on the phone is off set a tad. loose a little. will that affect my android loading?
I have tried to search long and hard before I made this post, but honestly THERE IS ALOT OF INFORMATION TO READ THRU and i justget confused.
if anyone can shed some light on these two questions, i will appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used a cheap 4GB Micro-SD card and it seems okay. I think its recommended just to have a fast card to improve performance. The best thing to do is to try a different build. Ensure you did the following steps:
1. Flash HSPL(2 or 3, I personally used 3)
2. Flash a Windows Mobile ROM(I am using a barebone version of Energy by NRG28)
3. Flash a radio(Version 2.08.# or higher, i'm personally using 2.12.#)
4. Flash a build of Android(Any is fine, i'm personally using Darkstones Froyo 2.1 but try a few)
5. Take SD Card out, launch into Energy, insert SD Card, use file explorer to go SDCARD\Android\ and launch CLRAD.exe(Wont show anything but press a few times to make sure) and launch HaRAT.exe, wait until you get into Android(may take some time on the building data store text) then restart phone by doing step 5 again
^ don't think i've missed anything
******Edit******
Didn't see your post about SIM card until i posted this, try a free Pay as you Go sim or another spare SIM you may have, or maybe put SIM in when Androids loaded?
i would also look into starting from scratch , like going back to stock rom and working your way back up
Note: recently asked a similar questions about this after flashing Samsung Omnia 7 ROM onto the focus (DO NOT TRY IT DOES NOT WORK), which i only did because my phone memory was fried by a faulty microsd card.
I am curious if the ROM will ever be available so i can flash it onto my phone and start fresh.
Also any suggestions of any kind to fix my phone with this limited information I am open to anything.
IMO this is a big deal.
If this could be done then more people could feel safer about hacking and such. I've got to admit I don't know if I want to do anything other than "official" methods if there's no recovery to get it back to stock.
Omnia ROM on Focus
neibl said:
Note: recently asked a similar questions about this after flashing Samsung Omnia 7 ROM onto the focus (DO NOT TRY IT DOES NOT WORK), which i only did because my phone memory was fried by a faulty microsd card.
I am curious if the ROM will ever be available so i can flash it onto my phone and start fresh.
Also any suggestions of any kind to fix my phone with this limited information I am open to anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out this thread.
It seems this person successfully (sort of) flashed an Omnia 7 ROM on his Focus...
I'm in need of some expert advice. I would really like to run Android on my HD2 and have read a ton of threads on here on how to do run it. Problem is there seems to be several different options, ie. Nand, SD and so on. The more I read the more its difficult to know which option to choose. I new to this and do not want to break my phone. Would you advise trying this myself or sticking with what I have. Here is what I am currently running.
OS: 2.5.21913
Manila: 2.5.20181424.0
ROM: 3.14.531.1
Radio: 2.15.50.14
This will void your warranty, but dont worry, you can flash it back to "normal"
let me spare you some trouble and time then!
If you want to run both, i would advise you to use SD card method, and your windows os will be untouched.
I personally grew to hate WinMo and never went back since the early days of HD2 Android when only SD method was available.
This phone should have never come out without Android on it! Big fail! but it is an awesome machine still and thanks to the great people here at XDA, its a whole new level of phone with Android!
Head to the nand section (if you only want android) and download Typhoons CM7 build.
The instructions are pretty clear, and everything you need (including instructions ) is there.
Is the fastest and more stable build i have used and believe me as i am a flash addict (rom flashing of course). All my apps work and there are almost daily updates and treats from the Cyanogen mod team.
Cyanogen, always one step ahead. Making the smartphones even smarter...
PS: REMEMBER to ALWAYS backup before trying something new!
Well if you're absolutely sure of what is to be done and you don't care for your warranty as much, then flash away a NAND android build. Here is a guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1021837
If you're not sure if you have something already or not, then you might as well still flash what is required, it won't hurt, but it'll reassure you that you have the right settings.
If you really aren't sure how to do this, then just stay away. I would advise you not to ask someone to do it either since you may run into problems and then you'll know not what to do.
As said however, a sd build is painless, it won't even void your warranty so if you wan to be safe, use that.
Thanks for the help. From what I've read doing and SD is safer but it seems to not be stable to run and freezes a lot. Is this your experience with it as well?
Personally, I find there to be no difference between the two. Especially when it's a stock/cyanogen mod build. In sense builds I would say I found a difference such that NAND builds were faster, but I can't be too sure on whether I was swayed by my excitement of a NAND build at that time or sense builds were just slow already difference is so hard to tell.
cbreehl said:
Thanks for the help. From what I've read doing and SD is safer but it seems to not be stable to run and freezes a lot. Is this your experience with it as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its been a while since i used SD, but something i have always seen improved on NAND, was the wake up speed from standby. On SD, there was almost 2 secs before screen came on... maybe this is resolved nowadays! not sure!
Ok, you can for sure use the SD version - but my personal meaning is, that nowadays everybody uses the NAND versions cause of performance reasons. I changed to that and i would never go back Stable, fast etc ... sometimes a bit tricky whe you install a rom the first time, but normally, like in the CoreDroid releases there is a good manual avaible - keep close to that, do not change something without experience and it will work
There is nothing special about installing nand rom.
What you need is hspl and radio (you've got the right) first, then magldr 1.13 (bootloader), clockwork recovery console (clockwork mod to flash, reformat your sd and so on), the rom specific recovery layout (space for your rom) and the .zip file of that rom you want to flash. And ofc for the most of nand roms a sd ext 3 partition for your apps or system data. (Can be done with cwm all over the phone).
For warranty just restore all things done by customizing your hd2. No worries about that. You just need to restore the original spl and stock winmob rom
Nand is the best for a stable system.
Hf
Sent from my HTC HD2
+1 for nand, also tends to have better battery life. Go with clk not magldr as it gives you a fully native android.
Thanks for the info.. This is definitely something I want on my phone as I truly am bored with a very much dislike Windows. I am good at following directions but I have never done this before so I guess for those of you who have my question is would you recommend me trying this or is it easy for me to break my phone therefore I should just leave it as is and deal with Windows for another year.
NAND is better for battery life, but American android cyanogen build (in my sig) is fast, smooth and trouble free. I would suggest you try a SD build before moving onto NAND to sample. SD installation is as simple as download to computer, extract, copy and paste Android folder onto SD card.
The short answer to your question is: f*Co yeah!
Its simple really, if your good at following instructions then you have a 00.01% chance of breaking your device, therefore why not.
Now since you took the effort of registering here, which is all about tweaking, moding( you name it, there is a mod for that too), it would be a shame that you'll go back to using some thing that you don't like (winmo) for another year, just because you don't have the guts?
cbreehl said:
Thanks for the info.. This is definitely something I want on my phone as I truly am bored with a very much dislike Windows. I am good at following directions but I have never done this before so I guess for those of you who have my question is would you recommend me trying this or is it easy for me to break my phone therefore I should just leave it as is and deal with Windows for another year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you dont have to deal with windows contact me i can help youi further ...
EDIT:: i am really really experienced you can see my sig too
you can use an sd rom for start. because it doesn't need hspl etc. i can recommend americandroid.it has no lags.give it a try,very easy.
mutil said:
you can use an sd rom for start. because it doesn't need hspl etc. i can recommend americandroid.it has no lags.give it a try,very easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems that is the favorite can you provide me with the link to find the download for it?
Yes. Just click on the red American Android link in my sig below.
If you're going to invest the effort I'd just go nand, you can always reflash windows. I'd go with typhoon or hyperdroid, both solid cyanogen based roms. Otherwise you'll just waste time setting up SD install only to have to redo it. My 2c
transition in steps
+1 for going with American Android SD version of Gingerbread.
I first tried a RAM version and was impressed, but AmericanAndroid is as smooth and stable as you can get with an SD build.
Love it and my phone is amazing with it!
Instructions are clear in the first post and there is really no chance of bricking your phone.
Live with it for a while and if you then feel like you want more...then try a NAND build.
Good luck...you won't regret it!!!
David
I am kind of new at this, but here's my two cents.
If you know you don't like the Windows OS, you may as well commit to a NAND ROM. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I got the impression, the SD ROMs were hard to reboot. Don't you have to boot into Windows and run a file to boot the Android? Maybe I just didn't read all of the boot loader options.
Another thing I learned is that you probably want to try a ROM without Sense to start with. My first approach was to go for the slickest ROM since I had a nice new slick phone. Looking back, I should have gotten something stable working to see Android work, and then, I could have tried the Sense 3.0 ROM. Just a thought.
Another frustration I had was finding a full set of directions. I am like you in that I can follow directions, but I had trouble with all the different directions. Some ROMs need to flash a partition. Some are SD-based and you follow a totally different set of instructions. It sounds like you have already done enough reading to get past this point, but you might consider the completeness of the instructions that come with the ROM when you select the ROM you want to use.
I hope those thoughts help.
Hey guys
quick question does anyone have a desend an good overview how i can put android on my hd2 instead of wm6.5 dont want to use that anymore...
i just want a good way to install any android version on my phone