Database Users

.cab type file

A .cab file is a file that you must activate from your phone from a file explorer of some sort. To get them onto your device, you mist set up an active sync connection and just drop the .cab file somewhere you can find it. it will then ask you where you want to save it, and viola, it works.

I know this Thread is kinda old by now, but i just got a question on the cab files.
So i see how u make them work now, BUT what exactly are they? what are they made of? what is their exact function?

.CABs are basically .exe files (for Windows) or .app files (on a Mac). They're executable files which install an app onto your device. Think of them as 'advanced' ZIP files.

.CABs are not a kind of .exe (executable) files! Think of them as advanced .ZIP files. A .CAB can be generated using CabWiz.exe (Pocket PC) or CabWizSP.exe (Smartphone). The source of a .CAB file is a .INF (Textfile with a special format - looks very similar the the good old Windows .INI file format) file.
On a WM device the .CAB file extension is associated with wceload.exe which executes the instructions contained in the .CAB file.
Microsoft Visual Studio will create .CAB for "Smart Device Projects" automatically but often they are not very useful. As a good developer you should consider writing own .inf file for your project so you have the full control what will happening if the user opens your .CAB on the device.

CAB = Cabinet
​EDiT: Soon I'll try to make a more readable document about *.cab as is now as described below,
Actually *.cab files gives us WM5/6 Standard Professional users the power to configure our devices the way we want! And fast especially when User Customization is build into ROM thus SDConfig.txt + SDautorun.exe cq runcc.exe cq DevPrep is used! Then we 'the users' and 'ROM flashing junkies' get super fast multi mega provxml and cab battle installs on the fly
Here some Graphic User Interface (GUI) builds around several cabxxx.exe utilities ;
QuickCab was one of my sticky cab application(s)! It made my day several times Nowadays I'm using Extendir Cabs (below).
-=[ Screenshot1 ]=- -=[ Screenshot2 ]=-
::
Did you know that CAB files transfered via ActiveSync may be altered during the transfer process? If you have a CAB file which has been authenticode signed with a certificate, ActiveSync may strip off the certificate during the transfer process if it determines the connected device does not support signed cab files. This is something to be aware of, if you notice your CAB files won’t install if you download them across the network, but will if manually transfered via ActiveSync.
::
Extendir Cabs (with nice GUI) is an utility to create cab files.
Basically it’s a shell around cabarc.exe. It converts rgu/reg/xml/provxml files, create _setup.xml, create all the different install paths to optimize for Extendir (optionally you can switch this off). So it’s very easy to convert your tweaks or packages to a setup cab.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4033241&postcount=4
-=[ Screenshot ]=-
[APP] CabGen - easily create .cab from wap-provisioningdoc ONLiNE
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=441577
[APP] ai Cab Explorer utility: new way to explore cab files on your disk (view manila pictures, build multiple cabs album)
http://www.xda-developers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=561968
ProvXMLCreator [1.0][Autoconfiguration for WiFi, Certificates and email]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=630094
reg/rgu-2-xml
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=386677
Registry format conversor: xml to reg
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=299308
Use SK-Tools (not free, though partly functional) it exports registry and can create a cab! It has also a reg editor. Plus.....
S-K-Tools main site!
http://www.s-k-tools.com/index.html?m_products.html
S-K-Tools freeware site! ;
http://www.s-k-tools.com/index.html?m_util.html Check these two free awesome applications;
CabInstl :
-=[ Screenshot animated ]=-
This program is an installer for CAB files and allows to install PocketPC programs into YOUR specified folder instead of that by default created by the standard installer!
SSNAP : REGiSTRY/~ SNAPSHOT 'N + 2nd SNAPSHOT and COMPARE on PocketPC!
-=[ Screenshot ]=-
The program takes a snap-shot of the state of PocketPC that is useful for monitoring of changes on PocketPC, e.g. those made during installation of programs. To compare snaps of two different PocketPC states it is possible to use the utility iDiffCE on your PocketPC (see below) or any other utilities for comparison of text files on desktop PC – e.g. ExamDiff.. or Total Commander (PC version) (TC it's; Compare files by content function).
What is saved in a snap:
- contents of the registry (keys and valuess);
- listing of the file system (folders and ffiles; for files their dates and sizes are saved, the control sum is counted up);
- state of system databases (the list, the size, number of records, date of the last update).
Usefull tools for packaging and development issues
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/198038/
[Personal Computer]
[APP] Pocket PC Themes Toolkit v1.03
After installing this application.. magically cabwiz.ddf , CabWiz.exe and makecab.exe appeared within its directory just when I needed them!!! *cough*
[UTILITY] CabTools - ROM package <--> CAB converters and more. For ROM builders!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=467842
Free Microsoft XML Notepad 2007;
http://www.microsoft.com/DownLoads/...49-787d-4118-ba5f-4f30fe913628&displaylang=en
(FYI: manually press download)
Download cabsdk.exe ( http://theether.net/download/Microsoft/Utilities/ ) for documents that describe the internal structures of CabinetFiles, samples to use from C and a description of cabinet.dll.
(FYI: cabsdk.exe is a compressed executable zip file).
Universal Extractor (guess what; it supports cab(!) and so.. so much more (like *.msi). Running from CLI is no problem eighter, which is great for batch processing).
http://legroom.net/software/uniextract
-=[ Screenshot1 ]=- -=[Screenshot2 ]=- -=[ Screenshot ]=-
WinCE cab Manager not free
-=[ Screenshot ]=-
CEcabManager TiP; Get your desired *.cab!
1) keep PDA disconnected (no active sync session)
2) install exe as usual and, when standard installation dialog will appear, go on (later cab installation will begin when you'll connect phone to pc)
3) open (on PC) regedit.exe
4) go to this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows CE Services\AppMgr\Apps
5) there you'll find a list of installable cabs via active sync
6) under each application, the value ListCabFiles is the name of cab file and the value InstallDir is its position of file system.
Remember to uninstall exe after you copy/move the cab file (or delete application key) otherwise installation of cab files will start on next activesync session!!
Simple, isn't it?
MSCEInf FREEWARE
Version 2.6 (developed in Delphi 2007 for W32)
-=[ Screenshot ]=-
http://www.codeppc.com/telechargements/msceinf/msceinf.htm
above webpage Translated into English
MSCEInf (aka MSCEInf.exe) is a fantastic piece of kit that allows the user to inspect the contents of .cab (and .tsk) files.
In addition, the program enables you to extract files from a .cab, and use embedded XML or INF files to construct the relevant .rgu or initflashfiles entries.
{
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Version française​ French Version
English version​ English version
Deutsche Version​ Deutsche Version
Versione Italiana​ Versione Italiana
Versione Spagnola​ Versione Spagnola
Version Néerlandaise (hollandaise)​ Version Netherlands (Holland)
CABpack ; http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/cabpack.htm
Pocket PC Installation Creator 2.6 - Not Free Handy tool for creating exectutable PPC apps
http://pocket-pc-installation-creator.en.softonic.com/pocketpc
A few links I stumbled upon recently;
MS-Cabinet File WrapperClasses
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/files/cabfileclass.aspx
Cabinet File (*.CAB) Compression and Extraction
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/files/CABCompressExtract.aspx
How to implement creation and extraction of Microsoft CAB files
CDirectoryChangeWatcher - ReadDirectoryChangesW all wrapped up
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/files/directorychangewatcher.aspx
This class wraps up ReadDirectoryChangesW.
CTextFileDocument
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/files/textfiledocument.aspx
CTextFileDocument lets you write and read text files with different encodings (ASCII, UTF-8, Unicode 16 little/big endian are supported).
CEregEditor : CEregEditor is free ware and runs on PC in combination with ActiveSync. It allows editing of the registry of the PocketPC right on your PC. Extra's; it dan import/export *.cab files! Use the compare tool to save an image of the registry (F2) then after installing a cab, use Images -> compare registry.
-=[ Screenshot attached as picture ]=-
Senax

RegToXml - Convert registry files to provisioning xml files

Do we need another tool for converting registry files to provisioning XML files? Maybe not, but I wasn't happy with existing solutions, so here's my offering. It runs on Windows (not on Windows Mobile), and will convert any registry data file given to it into a file of the same name, but with a .xml extension.
This is eventually going to be a small part of a larger project I'm working on, but I thought I'd release it now to get any early feedback.
Features:
Command line interface (or just drag and drop the registry file onto the .exe)
Converts Unicode and ANSI file formats: .reg (v4 and v5), .rgu, .cereg
Supports continuing line breaks (lines split with \)
Supports all data types (including REG_BINARY containing non-unicode data)
Supports key and value deletion instructions
Robust to non-fatal failure: informative warnings and errors will be displayed (if run from the command line).
Accessible as an API (to .net apps) - add a reference to the .exe file, then call the static method RegToXml.RegToXml.Convert
The intention is for this to provide bullet-proof conversion of any valid registry files, so I'd really appreciate any bug reports (preferably with a copy of the registry file that failed!). Comments and suggestions welcome too.
Alex
Edit: This tool is now available as part of SDConfigGen, and will no longer be separately updated in this thread.

AlexVallat said:
Do we need another tool for converting registry files to provisioning XML files? Maybe not, but I wasn't happy with existing solutions, so here's my offering.
This is eventually going to be a small part of a larger project I'm working on, but I thought I'd release it now to get any early feedback.
Features:
Command line interface (or just drag and drop the registry file onto the .exe)
Converts Unicode and ANSI file formats: .reg (v4 and v5), .rgu, .cereg
Supports continuing line breaks (lines split with \)
Supports all data types (including REG_BINARY containing non-unicode data)
Robust to non-fatal failure: informative warnings and errors will be displayed (if run from the command line).
Accessible as an API (to .net apps) - add a reference to the .exe file, then call the static method RegToXml.RegToXml.Convert
The intention is for this to provide bullet-proof conversion of any valid registry files, so I'd really appreciate any bug reports (preferably with a copy of the registry file that failed!). Comments and suggestions welcome too.
Alex
.NET Framework (required)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi alex
I have error with Net CF
what version is required ? I have V2

brunoisa10 said:
Hi alex
I have error with Net CF
what version is required ? I have V2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should be OK with 2.0. Just a thought, you mention .Net CF - are you trying to run this on Windows Mobile? I should have been more specific, this is a Windows (PC) tool for generating xml provisioning files which are then used by SDAutorun.
Alex

I use http://ceregeditor.mdsoft.pl/

Radimus said:
I use http://ceregeditor.mdsoft.pl/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So do I, it's a great application! I'm not sure I understand your point, though?

AlexVallat said:
So do I, it's a great application! I'm not sure I understand your point, though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it will export the reg, it will convert to a cab... what else does it need to do?

Radimus said:
it will export the reg, it will convert to a cab... what else does it need to do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't export to cab, if I read correctly, it exports to *.XML

Exitao said:
It doesn't export to cab, if I read correctly, it exports to *.XML
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
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CERegEditor can export registry data. Once you have registry data, you may choose to it to a cab using the CERegEditor Convert menu as illustrated above by Radimus. If what you want is a cab file, RegToXml probably isn't what you are looking for.
If you want to convert it to an xml provisioning file, though, I don't believe CERegEditor has that functionality. You can use my RegToXml tool to do that.
Alex

I'm not trying to be difficult, but if we are to assume the cab works as advertised, then the xml is already inside the cab...
winrar or winzip or whatever to extract the cab....
All that aside, it is obviously not the only solution to this process and any efforts by a local dev is nothing but outstanding.
I have just started looking into XML provisioning, I had only done CAB installs previously. If this app will grow into a utility that can manage fileoperations like creating folders, moving/creating shortcuts, and such this will be a very worthy endeavor.

OK, I guess you could use CERegEditor generate a cab file, extract _setup.xml from it, rename it, and edit it to remove the extraneous dummy file copying stuff. I'd suggest that using this tool instead would be easier than that. Of course if what you want to end up with is actually a cab, rather than an xml file, then there's less point to it!
The reason I (personally) want to generate xml files from registry files is for use with SDAutoRun, where they are included in the SDConfig.txt with the XML: statement.
Alex

even a "wizard" type of app, that would create XML provisioning files for email accounts would be a life saver and a standard app for all UC flashers.
New account -> select provider (pop3,ldap,gmail,exchange,etc) -> acctname -> pw -> options -> another acct -> create XML? -> create cab? -> donate 1$

I like the idea. I'm currently working on an SDConfig.txt auto-generator, but once I've finished that, a wizard-based provisioning file editor could be a cool project.

@AlexVallat,
your RegToXml converter does not handle reg-lines which contain "multi-sz", hence it is useless for me.

jwoegerbauer said:
@AlexVallat,
your RegToXml converter does not handle reg-lines which contain "multi-sz", hence it is useless for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's been three years... I don't actually even have a windows mobile device any more.
That said, RegToXml should support values of type REG_MULTI_SZ. Check that you are using the latest version (0.6) - if not, it's part of SDConfigGen now. You can just extract RegToXml.exe from the zip file if that's all you want, though.

AlexVallat said:
It's been three years... I don't actually even have a windows mobile device any more.
That said, RegToXml should support values of type REG_MULTI_SZ. Check that you are using the latest version (0.6) - if not, it's part of SDConfigGen now. You can just extract RegToXml.exe from the zip file if that's all you want, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RegToXML is a Win32 app, hence no mobile device needed. To be on the safe side again downloaded SDConfigGen.0.6.zip and ran RegToXML.exe (06.08.2008, 12 KB) contained in it. Same result, i.e. multi-sz lines not converted. BTW, if you are still interested in your project, the rgu-file I want to get converted is attached.

jwoegerbauer said:
the rgu-file I want to get converted is attached
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As it turns out, .rgu files are not identical to .reg files. I've had a look around, but haven't been able to find a specification for the .rgu file format, but the "multi_sz:" thing is definitely not compatible with the .reg file format.
It would be nice to be able to support .rgu files too, and if I can get a spec for them I might even update the project to do so, but I can't just assume that they are identical except for multi-strings and then claim support for them.
If you can get your registry data in a .reg file instead of a .rgu, RegToXml will be able to process it.
Alex

AlexVallat said:
As it turns out, .rgu files are not identical to .reg files. I've had a look around, but haven't been able to find a specification for the .rgu file format, but the "multi_sz:" thing is definitely not compatible with the .reg file format.
It would be nice to be able to support .rgu files too, and if I can get a spec for them I might even update the project to do so, but I can't just assume that they are identical except for multi-strings and then claim support for them.
If you can get your registry data in a .reg file instead of a .rgu, RegToXml will be able to process it.
Alex
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Created with CeRegEditor a .REG-file which contains hex(7) <=> multi_sz lines - I've attached it. Same result as previously reported: Lines containing a hex(7) <=> multi-sz value weren't converted. I give up, thank you for your time.
BTW: the delimiter,terminator for multi-sz values in provxml-files is 
Code:
<parm name="TestValueMultiString" value="string1string2string3" datatype="multiplestring" />
Appendix:
People knowing of MortScript might use this script I created to batch-process the RegToXML converter:
Code:
#RegToXML.mscr
ErrorLevel("warn")
Local()
SetMessageFont(12, "Tahoma")
Path = SystemPath("ScriptPath")
MST = MortScriptType()
If(MST ne "PC")
BigMessage("^NL^This script is intended^NL^to be run at your desktop PC.^NL^Hence you must use^NL^MortScript's PC Version !!!", , FileBase(Path))
Exit
EndIf
BigMessage("Put .REG file(s) in the^NL^\REG_Original directory.", FileBase(Path))
If(FileExists(Path\"REG_Converted\*.reg"))
Delete(Path\"REG_Converted\*.reg")
EndIf
ForEach reg In Files(Path\"REG_Original\*.reg")
SetFileAttribute(reg, "system", FALSE)
SetFileAttribute(reg, "readonly", FALSE)
EndForEach
Xcopy(Path\"REG_Original\*.reg", Path\"REG_Converted", TRUE, TRUE)
idx = 0
ForEach reg In Files(Path\"REG_Converted\*.reg")
idx += 1
RunWait("RegToXml.exe", reg)
Delete(reg)
EndForEach
idx2 = 0
ForEach xml In Files(Path\"REG_Converted\*.xml")
idx2 += 1
EndForEach
BigMessage("" & idx & " file(s) processed^NL^" & idx2 & " file(s) converted", FileBase(Path))

jwoegerbauer said:
Created with CeRegEditor a .REG-file which contains hex(7) <=> multi_sz lines - I've attached it. Same result as previously reported: Lines containing a hex(7) <=> multi-sz value weren't converted. I give up, thank you for your time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I took a look at the .reg file. Firstly, it isn't valid as the value names "\Storage Card\MioAutoRun\Programs\Microsoft .NET CF 3.5\Microsoft .NET CF 3.5.GAC" haven't got the \ characters escaped. I fixed that with a search and replace, but it also looks like the multi-string values contain unicode data, which is also not valid for the reg format. I don't know why CeRegEditor is producing invalid reg files like this.
As you are giving up, though, I won't pursue this any further.
Alex

Cleaning up reg/rgu
Thank you for your tool! I'm still using it in my Kitchen
I want to point out a nice other tool to clean up reg/rgu (delete duplicated stuff, sort it etc.) you and others might be interested in too;
[UTIL] REG/RGU Cleaner
Have fun cooking!
Senax

Sous-Chef's Kitchen Utensils & Appliances Review

Intro
Welcome; I wanted to offer a little "something" back to the XDA community in the hopes that it will benefit others and to show my appreciation to the folks that make XDA the great community that it is.
If you've gotten excited about the idea of cooking your own ROM's, you've probably had to spend several weeks of reading, asking questions, getting acquainted with your facility, and figuring out where you're going to plug your utensils and/or appliances. Now comes the easy part, cooking quality ROM's ... right? It's gotta be simple after that, I mean that was all the hard stuff ... right? Well ...
As any seasoned chef will tell you, the quality of a meal greatly depends on quality ingredients, utensils, and appliances. Ingredients are a personal preference and some chefs can make Macaroni & Cheese taste like the best meal in the world; and how do they accomplish this? In many cases, they use quality utensils and appliances and understand the limitations of them.
Equipping your kitchen with the right tools ensures that you're able to provide quality meals to your patrons - resulting in return visits.
Outro
The goal of this thread is encourage seasoned chefs to share their knowledge of quality tools that they use in their day-to-day activities of ROM cooking.
Some of these tools are free, others have a trial version, and others must be purchased. The goal isn't to promote any one specific tool, it is to provide objective (and hopefully unbiased) reviews of these tools. Lastly, a moderator or senior chef may periodically review and cleanup this thread/post to ensure that it remains on-topic and consistent in format ... so don't take offense; you'll always be credited for your contribution.
Format For Each Post
Take a moment to review existing tool reviews; the goal is to share your experiences in using the tool. The review should contain the following information:
Name of the tool (same as in Title of post)
Version
Author
Link to tool
Cost (Free, Adware, Trialware, Purchase)
Reviewed by [your XDA member name]; in case the post is moved near the top of the thread at a later date.
Summary of what the tool does (uses) and any example you can think of.
Tips on how to use the tool; things you discovered when using the tool.
Potential pitfall (gotcha's) when using the tool; things you discovered when using the tool.
Reference threads (optional); links that might offer some additional usage information.
No attachments please. Post them in the original thread for the tool.

List Of Tools To Review
List Of Tools To Review
Here's a list of tools that I'd like to review and add to this thread. The goal is to review the various tools that chefs will often use while preparing their ROMS; any seasoned chefs (aka volunteers)? If so, post your review in the thread.
CABARC: MS Cabinet SDK in self executing zip
CABtoEXT
CeRegEditor
DSM Assembler Manifest: DSM Editor
EmEditor: advanced string search & editor
HEX Workshop: Intermediate HEX editor
ini2reg : Preformatted ini file for customized Registry extraction
IDA Pro: assembler/disassembler (extremlely advanced)
NBHextract: .NBH Extraction
NBHUtil: .NBH Generation
Notepad2: intermediate multi-editor (lua, xml, cmd, etc.)
Paint.NET: graphics editor
ProvXMLCreator: Autoconfiguration for WiFi, Certificates and email
PE Explorer: resource editor
PHM Registry Editor
PreKitchen Tool: import SYS to kitchen
RECMOD: recode/decode modules
REG2XML: convert .reg and .rgu files to xml
RegLogger: registry logging
ROM Extractor (Link 2)
TrayGUID PC: generate unique GUID to clipboard by clicking it
UAE Debugging Tool (UAEDT = Unrecoverable Application Error Debugging Tool)
WinCE CAB Analyzer (MSCEInf): .CAB extraction
WinCE CAB Manager: .CAB creation
XVI32: basic HEX editor
Resource Builder
Windows Mobile Developer Power Toys
Any others? Feel free to post a request in the thread or send me a PM.

Quick Post Index
Quick Post Index
Sorted alphabetically; at least I hope it is.
CAB/OEM Package Converters
CAB2OEM
CAB to OEM to EXT GUI Suite
Package Creator
Device Side Manifest (.DSM) Editors
BuildDSM
DSM Analyzer
DSM Builder
DSM Dependency Dumper
DSM Editor
Editors
EditPad
SciTE
Syn Text Editor
XML Notepad
Graphics (.BMP, .JPG, .PNG, etc.)
GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP)
IcoFX
Kitchen Porting Tools (SYS, OEM, etc.)
Initflashfiles Hex2Text
SYS Porting Tool For Ervius Kitchen
Process, Registry
FDC Task Manager (aka DotFRED)
Registry Workshop
Resource (.DLL, .EXE, etc.)
Dependency Walker
File Editor Suite
PEinfo
Resource Hacker
ROM Squeezer
Search/Comparison/File Managers
Beyond Compare
Compare It
Directory Opus

Senax's Library Of Links
Senax's Library Of Links
There are links to SDK's, developer tools, power toys and more. More links are better than less, so we say in Holland Don't you agree??
Have a nice day folks,
Senax
:UPDATE:
How could I forget to mention;
System Center Mobile Device Manager Resource Kit Tools
That was my left sleeve of links...
Q: Are you going to make it any easier for us?
A: That's a good question! No, (not for the Moderator(s) ) I've no intention of that just yet. First more power links, while thoroughly reviewing stuff, then searching for new links (references) and so on. Then a new review
Have a nice day / night while clicking all them links in ...,
Senax
Here some links to SDK's to inform others and get them reviewed:
Windows Mobile 5.0 SDK for Pocket PC
Windows Mobile 5.0 SDK Documentation
Windows Mobile 6 Documentation
Windows Mobile 6 SDK Refresh
Windows Mobile 6 SDK Documentation
Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Tool Kit
Windows Mobile 6.5 Documentation
Windows Mobile 6.5.3 DTK
.NET XML PowerToys:
Generating XML Documents from XML Schemas
The XML Diff and Patch GUI Tool
Using the XML Diff and Patch Tool in Your Applications
Using the XSD Inference Utility
XML Tools Update
MSXML SDK
Power Toys for .NET Compact Framework 3.5
&
NETCFv35.Messages.EN.wm.cab ; exception messages
Windows CE CAB Installer SDK (though named SDK its more a CDK (Commercial DK), because you've got to pay $5 for it).
Awesome for UC (User Customization).
Microsoft SDKs (every and all SDKs from MS) for;
Azure Services Platform
Windows Desktop
Office
Devices
Windows Live Services
Server Technologies
Social
Games
Web Development
Other
Developer Tools:
Installing Developer Tools on Windows Mobile
Development Tools and Resources for Windows Mobile
Development Resources for WM on xda-developers.com
UPDATED: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=445396
What Microsoft does not tell is that when they shot themselves in the foot with 'Vista', they were forced to introduce Win7 earlier as planned. Thus VS2008 (read WM) all its links have been moved to > :NULL
Well maybe not, though I've a hard time finding them .. and I do know how to tweak-search. We (the users) are forced into using VS2010 now! It's all 'embedded' now (cq sort of virtual). Ah, well.. it's not that bad
Windows Mobile 6 Localized Emulator Images
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...A8-1DD7-426F-A913-4F370A65A582&displaylang=en
Brief Description
This package includes localized Windows Mobile 6 emulator images that can be used with Visual Studio to test applications on different localizations or simply as standalone emulators without Visual Studio 2005!
Microsoft Power Toys:
Windows Mobile Network Analyzer PowerToy (Released with WM5 though usable with WM6)
Windows Mobile Device Security Manager PowerToy(Released with WM5 though usable with WM6)
General (Embedded) WM 6.x CE PowerToys link
Nowadays there 'll be no more Power Toys from Microsoft, instead we get:
Not (all) Windows Mobile specific: Microsoft Solution Accelerators & ~ A-Z technet :Free power(toys);
MSDN Code Galery third party resources
Windows Phone Developer Tools Beta
XML Notepad 2007 References:
Since this nice free editor is on CodePlex it is nice to mention this link;
http://xmlnotepad.codeplex.com/
I also found this link in my BookmarX_Manager; http://msdotnetsupport.blogspot.com/...-tutorial.html (their MORE button is the best TUTORiAL I've seen online about XML Notepad!!)
Hopper
There's a 'new' Hopper (device stress tester included In WM Developer Power Toys) for WM6> (not WP7). Hopper its two versions WM5 WM6; http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...45#post7549645
[PC] works for device too if its cradled.
Q: Is a file signed with a signature?
A: Let us check that using SystemInternals_Suite (click on the left of that page) its CLI SigCheck.exe
SigCheck; Verify that images are digitally signed and dump version information with this simple command-line utility.
ARM
These links are NOT for a review, these are to inform people about ARM processors used in WM and WP:
ARM Classic Processors
ARM Infocenter
ANDROiD SDK
http://developer.android.com/index.html
Phoenix SDK
Phoenix is the code name for a software optimization and analysis framework that is the basis for all future Microsoft compiler technologies. The Phoenix framework is an extensible system that can be adapted to read and write binaries and MSIL assemblies and represent the input files in an IR, which can be analyzed and manipulated by applications by using the Phoenix API. The code can then be written in binary or JITable form for execution.
It enables teaching and collaborative research in code generation, optimization, program analysis, binary transformation, and software correctness. Phoenix is used as a research platform by Microsoft Research and will be the universal compiler backend for upcoming Microsoft languages and development tools.
Phoenix SDK April 2008
How to install Phoenix SDK

Senax's Library of Links ... continued
AT Commander
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
[PC] ATCommander;
http://atcommander.com
The above link does not provide us with much information/links thus I searched some more
and came up with; http://atcommander.com/download/. Same page though not reachable via the first link. Anyway here you can download the latest .zip or .exe.
Note: My anti virus started to whine as soon as I unpacked the zip, though when I ran it in a VMware workstation everything worked smoothly.
Also do not forget to check this link;
http://atcommander.com/public/
Here some AT Commands reference links provided in two pdf files;
http://atcommander.com/download/AT_C...Specification/
[WM5/6] ATCommander;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=375395

Senax's Library of Links ... continued
Reserved for future expansion.

Resource Hacker
Name: Resource Hacker
Version: 3.5.2 beta
Author: Angus Johnson
Link: http://angusj.com/resourcehacker
Cost: Free
Reviewed By: Sous-Chef
Summary/Review:
Resource Hacker is a freeware utility to view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource files (*.res). Cursor, Icon, Bitmap, GIF, AVI, and JPG resource images can be viewed and WAV, MIDI audio resources can be played. Menus, Dialogs, MessageTables, StringTables, Accelerators, Delphi Forms, and VersionInfo resources can be viewed as decompiled resource scripts. Menus and Dialogs can also be viewed as they would appear in a running application.
Resources can be saved as image files (*.ico, *.bmp etc), as script files (*.rc), as binary resource files (*.res), or as untyped binary files (*.bin). Resources can be modified by replacing the resource with a resource located in another file (*.ico, *.bmp, *.res). Dialog controls can also be visually moved and/or resized by clicking and dragging the respective dialog controls prior to recompiling with the internal compiler. Additionally, resources can be added to an application by copying them from external resource files (*.res).
Tips:
Always keep a copy of the unaltered file as a backup.
Gotcha's:
Even though it is possible to alter the resources, some applications automatically resize controls and dialogs during operation.
Some applications may cease to function when the resource file is altered.
Reference Links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=511876
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=562645
http://asukal.seesaa.net/article/6114096.html

Beyond Compare
Name: Beyond Compare
Version: 3.1.10
Author: Scooter Software, Inc.
Link: http://www.scootersoftware.com
Cost: Trialware, Purchase
Reviewed By: aruppenthal, Sous-Chef
Summary/Review:
Beyond Compare allows you to quickly and easily compare your files and folders. By using simple, powerful commands you can focus on the differences you're interested in and ignore those you're not. You can then merge the changes, synchronize your files, and generate reports for your records. You can compare entire drives and folders at high speed, checking just sizes and modified times. Or, thoroughly verify every file with byte-by-byte comparisons.
Once you've found specific files you're interested in, Beyond Compare can intelligently pick the best way to compare and display them. Text files can be viewed and edited with syntax highlighting and comparison rules tweaked specifically for documents, source code, and HTML. Data files, executables, binary data, and images all have dedicated viewers as well, so you always have a clear view of the changes. Beyond Compare is a "must have" tool; it will save hours of time. There is no better way to compare new builds and look for what has changed. When properly configured, it can display file versions which make integration of multiple sets of OEMdrivers a breeze. Swapping SYS files is never easier; you get to see dates of creation and can easily move files from one set to the other with a few clicks.
Here are some examples of how comparison can be used:
Compare one .\SYS folder version (ex: 23541) against an updated .\SYS folder version (ex: 23549) so as to determine what changes have occurred in registry files.
Compare one version of a ROM package (ex: Manila_2.1) against a newer version of the package (ex: Manila_2.1.1).
Compare a device ROM (ex: Mega_HTC_Europe_1.28.401.4) against another ROM (ex: Mega_TMO_UK_1.33.110.2) of the device to see what the HTC changed.
Compare specific files such as .XML, .PROVXML, etc.
Tips:
You can copy the installation folder from your system to an external drive. You can then launch the .EXE from the external drive on another system - no need for installation.
Enable the "Send Files To The Recycle Bin" option to avoid having a file permanently deleted when it is removed from the list.
Gotcha's:
Editing INITFLASHFILES.DAT with the built-in editor is not recommended as it may cause corruption resulting in ROM issues.
Reference Links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=5979483&postcount=11
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=6251478&postcount=27

IcoFX
Name: IcoFX
Version: 1.6.4
Author: Attila Kovrig
Link: http://icofx.ro
Cost: Free
Reviewed By: Sous-Chef
Summary/Review:
IcoFX is an all-in-one freeware icon editor solution for icon creation, extraction and editing. It is designed to work with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows CE and Macintosh icons supporting transparency.
Easily convert your favorite images into icons, or icons into images. IcoFX gives you the possibility to create icon libraries or change icons inside EXE files. You can extract icons from other files, including Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Macintosh files. You can easily work with multiple files using the batch processing capability of IcoFX.
Tips:
Always keep a copy of the unaltered file as a backup.
Choose free images to avoid potential copyright pitfalls.
Gotcha's:
None discovered.
Reference Links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=511876

Dependency Walker
Name: Dependency Walker
Version: 2.2
Author: Steve P. Miller
Link: http://www.dependencywalker.com
Cost: Free
Reviewed By: Sous-Chef
Summary/Review:
Dependency Walker is a utility that scans any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows module (exe, dll, ocx, sys, etc.) and builds a hierarchical tree diagram of all dependent modules. For each module found, it lists all the functions that are exported by that module, and which of those functions are actually being called by other modules. Another view displays the minimum set of required files, along with detailed information about each file including a full path to the file, base address, version numbers, machine type, debug information, and more.
Dependency Walker is very useful for troubleshooting system errors related to loading and executing modules. Dependency Walker detects many common application problems such as missing modules, invalid modules, import/export mismatches, circular dependency errors, mismatched machine types of modules, and module initialization failures. It handles all types of module dependencies, including implicit, explicit (dynamic / runtime), forwarded, delay-loaded, and injected. For example, a quick way to determine what additional packages may be required for an application:
Open each .DLL/.EXE file in the package (ex: YouTube)
Note the files that are flagged as missing.
Search the source (usually an extracted ROM) for those files; odds are you'll need the entire package contents where the file is found.
Repeat the process until all of the necessary files are found.
Dependency Walker runs on Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, 2003, and Vista. It can process any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows module, including ones designed for Windows CE. Windows CE modules use the same module format (known as the "Portable Executable" format) that is used for modules written for Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, and beyond. There is no version of Dependency Walker that actually runs on Windows CE, but you can open Windows CE modules with Dependency Walker on a standard Windows computer.
Tips:
Create a folder with all of the common WinCE files in it and set a custom search order that includes this path and save it to a file.
Use RECMOD to recode modules that may be required.
Use the "/d:your_file.dwp" command line option to pass a custom search order file to Dependency Walker.
Gotcha's:
Dependency Walker automatically tries to locate dependent modules using the default Windows module search path. For Windows CE modules, this can cause errors since non-CE modules may be found in the default search path. To fix this, you can use Dependency Walker's "Configure Module Search Order" dialog to remove all standard paths and then add a private folder of your own that contains only CE modules.
Reference Links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=576027

FdcSoft Task Manager (aka dotFRED Task Manager)
Name: FdcSoft Task Manager (aka dotFRED Task Manager)
Version: 3.3
Author: FdcSoft (aka dotFred)
Link: http://www.dotfred.net/TaskMgr.htm
Cost: Free
Reviewed By: Sous-Chef
Summary/Review:
The Task manager application is a bunch of several useful tools in just one tool. It includes a Process manager, CPU usage, Application Manager, Service Manager, Device Manager (only WM2005 and above), Windows Manager, Notification Manager, IP Config utility, Ping utility, Net Stats utility, Registry Editor, and Run program utility.
Although, the application is intended to run on a Mobile Device, it is an excellent tool to use during the preparation of OEM packages. For example, the following procedure speeds up the process of converting from .CAB to OEM:
Copy the files from extract .CAB to the device
Import the registy settings
Process the .PROVXML files.
Reboot the device
Test application
Tips:
The application can run from an SD card.
.RGU files can be renamed to .REG; make sure to remove the hidden, system file attributes.
Gotcha's:
.PROVXML files require a minor adjustment; see reference link below.
Reference Links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=519548

Directory Opus
Name: Directory Opus
Version: 9.5.3
Author: GP Software
Link: http://www.gpsoft.com.au
Cost: Trialware, Purchase
Reviewed By: ceesheim
Summary/Review:
Directory Opus 9 is a Windows File Manager & Explorer replacement that includes, user-definable file display views, User-definable toolbars, menus, file types, powerful image and file viewers, built-in ZIP and Secure SSL/SSH FTP, easily synchronize files & find duplicates, quick or advanced search and rename functions.
The file manager is extremely useful for moving files between folders, making backup copies of files, viewing pictures and playing sounds, running other utility programs on lists of files, deleting unwanted files and many other "housekeeping" tasks. If you are working with a lot of files in kitchens or Manila, this is a must have.
Tips:
Take a few moments to get familiar with the options.
Can view .XML , HEX , .TXT , .DOC , .CPR , .PROVXML , .MSCR , .DSM , .RGU And many more
In view mode it can tell you if a manila file is a lua or a QTC1 file (in HEX)
Download lot of Plugins & Media Capabilities (RTF-Viewer , CSV-Viewer , Source Code Viewer , Postscript-Viewer , RVF File , EXE/DLL Metadata)
Gotcha's:
None discovered.
Reference Links:
None.

XML Notepad 2007
Name: XML Notepad 2007
Version: 2.5
Author: Microsoft
Link: http://www.microsoft.com/DownLoads/...49-787d-4118-ba5f-4f30fe913628&displaylang=en
Cost: Free
Reviewed By: Sous-Chef
Summary/Review:
XML Notepad 2007 provides a simple intuitive user interface for browsing and editing XML documents. XML Notepad provide synchronized Tree View with Node Text View for quick editing of node names and values, incremental search (Ctrl+I) in both tree and text views, so as you type it navigates to matching nodes, Cut/copy/paste with full namespace support, drag/drop support for easy manipulation of the tree, even across different instances of XML Notepad and from the file system.
Additionally, XML schema are instantly validate while you edit with errors and warnings shown in the task list window. It includes intellisense on expected elements and attributes and enumerated simple type values, inplace HTML viewer for processing xml-stylesheet processing instructions, built-in XML Diff tool, support for XInclude, dynamic help from XSD annotations, and goto definition to navigate includes and XSD schema information.
It's a must have when working with .XML and .PROVXML files.
Tips:
Ensure that .NET Framework v2.0 (or higher) is installed
Gotcha's:
None discovered.
Reference Links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=519548

Field Notes: Beyond Compare
Name: Beyond Compare
Version: 3.1.10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Hilaireg Long time no talk
I want to emphasize the usage of Beyond Compare. This is the MOST important tool a chef can own. It will save hours of time. There is no better way to compare new builds and look for what has changed. When properly set up it shows file versions making integration of multiple sets of OEMdrivers a breeze. Swapping sys files is never easier as you get to see dates of creation and can easily move files from one set to the other with two clicks.
There is one thing not mentioned as far as cons. Using it on initflashfiles.dat is not recommended. Every time I have done so major issues followed by a restore of the original files.
Also when using beyond compare be SURE to set it to send files to the recycle bin. If not it will permanently delete them

EditPad
Name: EditPad
Version: Lite
Author: Just Great Software Co. Ltd.
Link: http://www.editpadpro.com/editpadlite.html
Cost: Free (Lite), Purchase (Pro)
Reviewed By: Laurentius26
Summary/Review:
EditPad Lite is a general-purpose text editor, designed to be small and compact, yet offer all the functionality you expect from a basic text editor. EditPad Lite works with Windows 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, Vista, and 7.
Additionally, You can open as many files in EditPad at a time as you want and change between the open files by clicking on their tabs without the hassle of overlapping windows. EditPad reads and writes UNIX (LF only) and Mac (CR only) text files (in addition to DOS/Windows CR+LF files, of course). EditPad natively supports Unicode text files and text files encoded in a variety of legacy code pages. EditPad supports all Windows and ISO-8859 code pages, plus a wide selection of DOS, KOI8 and EBCDIC code pages.
This means EditPad can edit any text file, whether it was saved on a Windows or Linux computer, an old DOS PC or an IBM mainframe. EditPad fully supports double byte character systems (DBCS) so you can edit texts written in Far East languages, such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean, as easily as those written in European languages.
EditPad is a very handy editor for viewing/editing .rgu, .dat, .xml, .html, and multiple formats - a must have for your kitchen.
Tips:
If you run EditPad again when there is already an instance running, the file(s) you wish to edit will be opened by the existing EditPad window. This means there will be at most one EditPad window open, which will save you from a lot of task switching. Of course, if you do need more instances, simply pick View|New editor from the menu.
EditPad puts an icon in the system tray that remains visible, even if EditPad is closed. This way you have easy and fast access to EditPad, without the need to keep it running all the time.
Gotcha's:
None discovered.
Reference Links:
None.

DSM Editor
Name: DSM Editor
Version: 1.7
Author: ervius
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=523139
Cost: Free
Reviewed By: Sous-Chef
Summary/Review:
In early kitchen and ROM cooking, chefs used to delete Device Side Manifest (.DSM) files from OEM packages that resided in the .\PACKAGES and/or .\EXT folder. Other chefs would delete the .DSM file and create an empty version of a .DSM file as a placeholder. As we learned more about the Windows Mobile, we discovered that .DSM files contained pertinent information that was used during the compilation of a ROM and should be properly managed. DSM Editor is a utility to view and modify components of a .DSM file .DSM such as certificates, dependencies, shadow order, and list of modules/files.
A Device Side Manifest file (.DSM) describes the contents of a package and has the name <GUID>.DSM. Each package has its own .DSM file. The .DSM file is a binary file and the format may change at any time. The .DSM file is created by parsing a package definition file, package shadow file, and a build manifest file. Each item specified within a build manifest file is used to determine the item's file type.
The .DSM file contains the following information:
Public key certificate data used for signature validation.
Version information which includes the previous version of a package so as to create a delta package between an older or baseline package and a new package.
Package GUID
Dependency GUID information
File names and file information in the form of raw file size and original VBase for MODULES so they can be re-based and differentiated during an update.
Tips:
Always keep a copy of the unaltered file as a backup.
A .DSM file should contain a complete (exact) list of all modules/files found in the package folder.
The .RGU file should be excluded from the .DSM file.
Kitchen-specific files should be excluded from the .DSM file.
Gotcha's:
Hidden (H) and/or System (S) attributes may need to be cleared (ATTRIB -s -h -r) from .DSM files before they can be edited.
Requires .NET Framework.
Reference Links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=520009

DSMBuilder
Name: DSMBuilder
Version: 2008-08-08
Author: anmendes
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=412272
Cost: Free
Reviewed By: Sous-Chef
Summary/Review:
In early kitchen and ROM cooking, chefs used to delete Device Side Manifest file (.DSM) files from OEM packages that resided in the .\PACKAGES and/or .\EXT folder. Other chefs would delete the .DSM file and create an empty version of a .DSM file as a placeholder. As we learned more about the Windows Mobile, we discovered that .DSM files contained pertinent information that was used during the compilation of a ROM and should be properly managed. DSMBuilder is a utility to view and modify components of a .DSM such as certificates, dependencies, shadow order, and list of modules/files.
A Device Side Manifest file (.DSM) describes the contents of a package and has the name <GUID>.DSM. Each package has its own .DSM file. The .DSM file is a binary file and the format may change at any time. The .DSM file is created by parsing a package definition file, package shadow file, and a build manifest file. Each item specified within a build manifest file is used to determine the item's file type.
The .DSM file contains the following information:
Public key certificate data used for signature validation.
Version information which includes the previous version of a package so as to create a delta package between an older or baseline package and a new package.
Package GUID
Dependency GUID information
File names and file information in the form of raw file size and original VBase for MODULES so they can be re-based and differentiated during an update.
Tips:
Always keep a copy of the unaltered file as a backup.
A .DSM file should contain a complete (exact) list of all modules/files found in the package folder.
The .RGU file should be excluded from the .DSM file.
Kitchen-specific files should be excluded from the .DSM file.
Gotcha's:
Hidden (H) and/or System (S) attributes may need to be cleared (ATTRIB -s -h -r) from .DSM files before they can be edited.
Dumping a custom ROM where a .DSM file was altered with DSMBuilder may result in the package being placed in the SYS folder.
Reference Links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=520009

DSM Dependency Dumper
Name: DSM Dependency Dumper
Version: 2009-06-19
Author: dj13241
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=527965
Cost: Free
Reviewed By: Sous-Chef
Summary/Review:
DSM Dependency Dumper is a handy tool to extract the list of dependency packages for a single Device Side Manifest file (.DSM) or an entire ROM. The DSM Dependency Dumper will produce a Comma Separated Values (.CSV) output file detailing all of the required dependencies for a package.
A Device Side Manifest file (.DSM) describes the contents of a package and has the name <GUID>.DSM. Each package has its own .DSM file. The .DSM file is a binary file and the format may change at any time. The .DSM file is created by parsing a package definition file, package shadow file, and a build manifest file. Each item specified within a build manifest file is used to determine the item's file type.
The .DSM file contains the following information:
Public key certificate data used for signature validation.
Version information which includes the previous version of a package so as to create a delta package between an older or baseline package and a new package.
Package GUID
Dependency GUID information
File names and file information in the form of raw file size and original VBase for MODULES so they can be re-based and differentiated during an update.
Tips:
Most ROM's are shipped with missing package dependencies.
Gotcha's:
None Discovered.
Reference Links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=520009

Registry Workshop
Name: Registry Workshop
Version: 4.2.4
Author: Torchsoft
Link: http://www.torchsoft.com/
Cost: Trialware, Purchase
Reviewed By: Laurentius26
Summary/Review:
Registry Workshop is an advanced registry editor for Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4), Windows XP (32/64-bit), Windows 2003 (32/64-bit), Windows Vista (32/64-bit), Windows 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit), and Windows 7 (32/64-bit). It is a perfect replacement for RegEdit and RegEdt32 which shipped with Windows. In addition to all the standard features, Registry Workshop adds a variety of powerful features that allow you to work faster and more efficiently with registry related tasks. With Registry Workshop, registry editing becomes more safe than ever before. All changes except changing key permissions can be safely reversed (even registry replacing and importing), using multiple levels of Undo. You don't need to worry about making mistakes when editing registry.
Registry Workshop includes many useful features: multiple undo and redo, the undo history can be saved to disk and reloaded at startup, search and replace registry keys, values and data with super fast search algorithm, compare registry between computers and/or .REG files with super fast speed, connect mobile device (Pocket PC, SmartPhone, etc.) registry via ActiveSync, cut, copy and paste registry keys and values, drag and drop to move or copy registry keys and values, edit .REG files and .POL files in the same way as editing system registry, backup and restore registry, defragment registry with preview, easy and flexible favorites management, quickly browse registry with address bar, bookmarks and visitation history, context menus to navigate to referenced key: open containing folder or open URL if the key or value contains a ProgID, ClassID, folder, file path or URL, jump to the same key in HKLM or HKCU by context menu, open multiple local registry windows, allow to open secure registry keys when running under the administrator privilege, and edit binary data in BYTE, WORD or DWORD format.
Tips:
Excellent for editing/viewing/export/import registry keys on your device from your desktop using ActiveSync.
Gotcha's:
None discovered.
Reference Links:
None.

DSM Analyzer
Name: DSM Analyzer
Version: 1.5
Author: michyprima
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=444186
Cost: Free
Reviewed By: Sous-Chef
Summary/Review:
In early kitchen and ROM cooking, chefs used to delete Device Side Manifest file (.DSM) files from OEM packages that resided in the .\PACKAGES and/or .\EXT folder. Other chefs would delete the .DSM file and create an empty version of a .DSM file as a placeholder. As we learned more about the Windows Mobile, we discovered that .DSM files contained pertinent information that was used during the compilation of a ROM and should be properly managed. DSM Analyzer is a utility to view and modify components of a .DSM file such as certificates and list of modules/files.
A Device Side Manifest file (.DSM) describes the contents of a package and has the name <GUID>.DSM. Each package has its own .DSM file. The .DSM file is a binary file and the format may change at any time. The .DSM file is created by parsing a package definition file, package shadow file, and a build manifest file. Each item specified within a build manifest file is used to determine the item's file type.
The .DSM file contains the following information:
Public key certificate data used for signature validation.
Version information which includes the previous version of a package so as to create a delta package between an older or baseline package and a new package.
Package GUID
Dependency GUID information
File names and file information in the form of raw file size and original VBase for MODULES so they can be re-based and differentiated during an update.
Tips:
Most ROM's are shipped with missing package dependencies.
Gotcha's:
Does not provide dependencies or shadow order information.
Changes only appear after reloading the .DSM or .DSM(s) in a folder.
Reference Links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=520009

Resextract - resource extractor plugin for Total Commander.

We all know what Reshack and Restorator are.
For me, only problem is, that sometimes their usage is annoying.
Sometimes files are editable with first program, and vice versa.
I realized, that there's alternative, and damn, it is GOOD.
It saves time when we want to change something fast, also, editing strings is possible too.
From our point of view it is mainly useful for using with exes and dlls, muis are not supported, unfortunately.
Of course, we should remember to not to use it with netcf apps nor upxed files.
Screenshot:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
RESOURCE EXTRACTOR PLUGIN
Version 1.1.1
____________________________________
FEATURES
____________________________________
- Decompilation of 32-bit PE executables (EXE SCR) and libraries (DLL OCX CPL BPL), resource files (RES DCR).
- Automatic detection of 32-bit executables and libraries by format. Resource files are detected only by extension.
- Resources with primary language are placed in both resource directory and resource type directory. "Primary" means the following: plugin searches for resource that better fits keyboard layouts.
- Resources can be deleted either internally (fast, but not safe; file may be damaged) or using Resource Hacker (you can get it from http://www.users.on.net/johnson/resourcehacker/). Backup copy with name "filename.ext.!!!" is created.
- Supports almost all standard resources. Styles for common controls can be decompiled as named constants.
- Decompilation process is fully customizable. Options can be stored either in the regsitry or in the ini-file (see below).
- Sometimes plugin behaves not trivially (even I sometimes didn't expect the result), so even advanced users should read ReadMe file.
____________________________________
INSTALLATION
____________________________________
You should not register it for any particular extension. Instead, register it for extension like "pe_res_dummy". It will allow entering self-executable archives.
- Unpack "ResExtract.wcx" and "ResConfig.exe" into "Total Commander \ Plugins" directory.
- Configuration -> Options... -> Packer -> Additional packers -> Configure packer extension WCX's
- Enter "pe_res_dummy" into the edit box
- Press "New type", browse for plugin, then press "Open"
- Press all "OK" buttons
If plugin finds ini file, it uses it to store configuration, otherwise registry is used. If you want plugin to store options in the ini-file, copy "ResExtract.ini" to the directory where plugin located.
After installing new version of plugin it is recomended that you run configuration application and click on the "Restore Defaults" button. Otherwise, some new functions may not work correctly. For example, detection of the resource format will not work if there is superfluous "type=extension" string.
____________________________________
USAGE
____________________________________
When your cursor is over one of the files with supported format (see above), press "Ctrl + Page Down" to enter file. You can copy resources from file and delete resources. To delete resource completely delete directory, not file. Otherwise, only resource with primary language will be deleted.
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RESOURCES THAT CAN BE DECOMPILED
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- Icons (ICO) and cursors (CUR). They can be extracted as a whole or as particular format. Formats have names like "16x16 256 Colors" or "48x48 True Color (XP)". "(XP)" mark in the format name means that it is 32-bit icon with alpha channel.
- Dialogs - both standard and extended (RC). Types and styles are decompiled as named constants for controls: Button, Static, Edit, ScrollBar, ListBox, ComboBox, ToolbarWindow32, RichEdit, SysAnimate32, SysDateTimePick32, SysHeader32, SysListView32, SysMonthCal32, SysPager, SysTabControl32, SysTreeView32, msctls_hotkey32, msctls_progress32, msctls_statusbar32, msctls_trackbar32, msctls_updown32, ComboBoxEx32, ReBarWindow32, ToolbarWindow32, RichEdit20A, BorBtn, BorRadio, BorRadio, BorCheck, BorStatic, BorShade. Styles for unknown controls are decompiled as hex values. All window styles are decompiled as named constants.
- Menus - both standard and extended (RC)
- Borland forms (DFM) are decompiled into the text format.
- Version information (RC)
- String and message tables (RC)
- Accelerator tables (RC). Keys are decompiled into the "VK_" constants.
- XP Manifests (XML)
- Toolbars (RC)
- Registry scripts (RGS)
- Registry installation (INI)
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AUTOMATICALLY DETECTED FORMATS
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- Bitmaps (BMP DIB)
- Text (TXT). If the first KB of resource does not contain non-printable symbols, it is detected as text
- Web resources (HTM HTML GIF JPG JPEG XSL)
- AVI video files (AVI)
- Wave sound files (WAV)
- Metafiles (WMF)
- Executables (EXE)
- Virtual devices (VXD)
- Resources with unknown format have "BIN" extension
- Corrupted with exe-compressors resources have "!!!" extension
- Resources with incorrect format have "!" extension
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CONFIGURATION
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All lists (extensions, languages) are words separated by spaces. All numbers (languages, resource types) are decimal. If you have already used plugin in this session of Total Commander, for changes to take place you must restart it or call "cm_UnloadPlugins" command. Total Commander caches archive contents, so if options change list of the resources, "cm_UnloadPlugins" will not help, you will have to restart program. Options are saved in the registry under the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Athari\res_wcx.wcx. You can use Regedit to import and export options.
OPTIONS tab
Plugin looks for current keyboard layouts and chooses resource to be extracted out of language directory. If you want to extract all resources of a file, you can disable this feature. "Ignore sublanguages" means that when plugin chooses languages to be extracted, it would not care about sublanguages. That is if you have "English (US)" keyboard layout, resource with "English (UK)" language can be choosen. Resource files cannot be detected by content; they are detected only by extension. If you have resource files with another extensions, you can add this extension to the list. Warning: do not try open file registered as RES, that does not have RES format; it may cause errors.
NAMES tab
Options in this tab affect only resource names and extensions. The first way to set extension is after the name of resource type. These strings have format "type=extension", without spaces. Type can be string or decimal number defining resource type. If resource have already got dot in the name, adding of "BIN" extension can be disabled.
FORMAT tab
This tab is for compatibility with other resource compilers. Some of them do not understand some statements. For example, Resource Hacker does not understand "SEPARSTOR" and a few styles; Borland C++ does not understand most styles of non-standard controls etc. If your resource compiler has any problems using decompiled resources, you can press "Compatibility mode" button. All values will be extracted as hex values, which are understood by every normal compiler. However, resources will lose readability.
EDITING tab
Instead of using internal method of deleting resources you should use Resource Hacker™, because it is much more reliable. You can download it free from http://www.users.on.net/johnson/resourcehacker/. However, it cannot delete icon formats and it is slower. If you want to delete icon formats, you can temporarily disable option "Use Resource Hacker". Warning: if you use internal method do not delete the last resource, file will be damaged.
PACKED tab
Some executable files can be packed with exe-compressors. Some or all of their resources cannot be extracted. You can change extensions or set "hidden" attribute of corrupted resources. In addition, although some resources can be unpacked, they cannot be decompiled. To test format of the resources while opening archive check "Test format" box.
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KNOWN PROBLEMS
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- If you delete the last resource of particular type, Total Commander does not update the view. It updates only after entering ".." dir. I cannot fix it. Author of Total Commander should fix it.
- If you enter language subdirectory of the only resource of particular type and delete that language, you would not be able to exit from file. You will have to use history (Alt + Down arrow) or enter dir manually (click on the panel title). I cannot fix it too. Therefore, if you want to delete Version Info, you should not enter language subdirectory to do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Disassemble or Reverse Engineer WM 6.5 dll

Can anyone suggest tools/utilities that would allow me to disassemble a WM 6.5 dll to reveal it's methods and parameters? In .net desktop world I can use tools like Reflector to do this, but I seem to be having difficulty doing this on WM apps.

Unregister dll - EDiT - Register dll
Here two threads discussing Developer tools & Kitchen Utilities for (ROM) Chef's;
Kitchen Utensils
60 Universal Tutorials for Customizing any Device and Cooking
Have fun, develop something nice for free and please do it here on xda-developers

There are a lot of ifs and buts to this but here goes:
If the dll was created as a .NET app, then reflector should be able to list the code within it, as it will contain the MSIL code within it. If it has been run through an obfuscator when it was built, this can mangle some of the internals and give Reflector a bit of a hard time.
Otherwise it will be a Win32/MFC/ATL object containing ARM object code. A DLL file is the same format as an exe file i.e. Microsoft's PE (Portable Executable) format. Microsoft's DUMPBIN, part of Visual Studio, (run it from the VS Command Prompt), is able to dump out the EXPORT table which lists the public functions visible in it.
There is a freeware ARM dissassembler , CHARMED, which can run on your device which can display the ARM assembly code, but to make any sense out of it, you will require a pretty good knowledge of the ARM instruction set and basic knowledge of how compilers work. If you don't know what a stack frame is, you'll struggle.

Providing a link to chARMed and C/P from that page
stephj said:
There is a freeware ARM dissassembler , CHARMED, which can run on your device which can display the ARM assembly code, but to make any sense out of it, you will require a pretty good knowledge of the ARM instruction set and basic knowledge of how compilers work. If you don't know what a stack frame is, you'll struggle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is the link for this nice freeware ARM dissassembler;
http://sites.google.com/site/naphos/software
Requirements: Windows 98,Me,2000,XP Size: 246kb Description: ABOUT ChARMeD:
ChARMeD is a Windows Mobile / Pocket PC / Win CE (for ARM CPUs) Disassembler and Assembler
The name ChARMeD stands for:
Carolo's Hexadecimal ARM Editor and Disassembler
FEATURES:
· Disassemble a Windows CE Executable for ARM CPUs.
· Assemble instructions in ARM Assembler.
· Upload modified file to Windows CE Device.
· View MZ and PE Headers of executable.
· View Import Table of executable.
ASSEMBLER:
· Added NOP instruction 0x90909090, which is not part of the ARM instruction set, but nevertheless works because it is an undefined instruction.
· Supports all no operand instructions, Branches (Jumps) and instructions with two registers as operands.
DISASSEMBLER:
· Recognises 0x90909090 as NOP (see ASSEMBLER above)
· Supports all no operand instructions, Branches (Jumps) and double operand instructions.
ARM Classic Processors
ARM Infocenter

I think IDA is standard for this kinda reversing. If you can find a location where the DLL is called from in another app, you should be able to quickly identify at least the number and format of the parameters. Obviously you can also refer to the import/export tables for this.
V

Awsome bits of info to get me started ... thanks!!

Is a DLL signed?
And if it is, how does one know it? I use a tool from sysinternals called Sigcheck
Sigcheck
Verify that images are digitally signed and dump version information with this simple command-line utility.
One way to use the tool is to check for unsigned files in your \Windows\System32 directories with this command:
Code:
sigcheck -u -e c:\windows\system32
Though there are way more options than the example above.
As all reverse engineers/hackers or cooks you too should investigate the purpose of any files that are not signed.
Besides some nice sysinternals standard utilities, there's also;
SystemInternals_Suite
For obvious reasons I'm using not a direct link to the Suite. Therefore you need to click on it (on the left) yourself. There's a load of useful utilities there waiting to be downloaded by (would be) developers, power users and system / network administrators (are we not all).
If it is signed with a signature; you need to unsign it before editing it!
It's dead easy.
1) Copy your DLL from your phone to your PC. You may need to use ROMExtractor to do this if you have problems.
2) Unsign it using Unsigner. To do this download Unsigner and the Unsigner batch file here. Copy Unsigner, the Batch file and the dll from the phone to one directory and run the .bat file. It should tell you that the certificate has been removed.
3) Download Reshack
4) Open the dll from the phone using Reshack or the better not free PE Explorer
5) Do your editing.
6) Click Compile String at the top and then save the file.
7) Download Ssigner. Launch it and use Select File to select the DLL file you've just modified. Click Start Sign Process! When it's done check the text file that's created to make sure it signed properly.
8) Copy the file back to the Windows directory on the device using for PPC/handheld/CE free Total Commander. If necessary Reboot.
Kitchen Utils Reviewed gives links to programs a developer / cook needs!
Have fun edtinig, vewinig ,bwroisng, assilimating, copamirng and itengaritng your files,
o/~