Helmi_c, I have some questions for you if you don't mind (or if anyone else wants to chime in that's great too):

1. I am curious about the pictures & videos problem that happened in your 3.3 rom. The solution was to copy the mfc80u.dll and msvcr80.dll files from \Windows\oem to \Windows. However, the initflashfiles.txt from the MouHid.dll folder already has instructions to copy mfc80u.dl_ and msvcr80.dl_ to both \Windows and \Windows\oem. So the versions should be the same, right? So why does copying them from \Windows\oem to \Windows work to fix the pictures & videos problem?

2. I am trying to understand the workings of initflashfiles.dat (and .txt). I understand that you use initflashfiles to copy rom files to various places (and can change the filename in the process). Like here is an example from initflashfiles.dat:


Directory("\My Documents\Templates"):-File("Blank Note.pwi","\Windows\blank.pwi")

So what that does is take the blank.pwi file in the ROM and copies it to \My Documents\Templates with the new name "Blank Note.pwi". I understand that very well. However, the original blank.pwi still exists inside the \Windows folder.

So it appears that there are now two copies of that file, one in \Windows and one in \My Documents\Templates. My question is, are there really two copies, or is the \My Documents\Templates\Blank Note.pwi just a symbolic link back to the blank.pwi file?

It is good to know because if there is actually two copies of that file then it takes up twice as much space as if there is only one copy. This will be important to keep in mind when making OEM packages as every kilobyte is sacred!

I hope my questions make sense. I have looked around at buzzdev and xda-dev forums but have not found much information on how initflashfiles works. I understand the syntax of how to make the file, but I want to know how it works underneath.

Thanks so much for the kitchen Helmi. It was very nice of you to help us considering you don't even have an Apache!

Directory("\Windows\OEM"):-File("mfc80u.dll","\Windows\mfc80u.dll_")
Directory("\Windows\OEM"):-File("msvcr80.dll","\Windows\msvcr80.dll_")
Directory("\Windows"):-File("mfc80u.dll","\Windows\mfc80u.dll_")
Directory("\Windows"):-File("msvcr80.dll","\Windows\msvcr80.dll_")

- that's what's in there - but what's in the folder is 2 files already named
xxx.dll_ and the effect (whatever it is) does not seem to be what was intended.

I think the above commands could be removed completely, and the correct dlls (without the trailing _) just placed in the MouHid folder. That's what I did anyway.
It's my understanding that you'll have 2 copies in rom space-wise. Most of the "copies" you want to make should be link files, not actual files, or other, small files - no need to move application to other directories, just let them sit in \Windows and put a link to them in the \windows\start\programs folder.

Yep. Those are the lines I saw in initflashfiles. And yeah I saw in your new MouHid.dll directory that the files no longer had the underscore (did you just rename the existing files in there or did you copy over a different version of those files?).

I guess my question to Helmi is why didn't the initflashfiles.txt work properly then? Those lines should copy the very same mfc80u.dll_ and msvcr80.dll_ to both \Windows and \Windows\oem, renaming them in the process to msvcr80.dll and mfc80u.dll. That should make the step of manually copying them back out of \Windows\oem redundant.

It's not a huge issue because the bottom line is that it is fixed... I am just trying to wrap my head around these mysterious initflashfiles documents, and why copying those files was necessary to fix this.

The mfc80u.dll/msvcr80.dll thing above is a good example of what I was talking about here. Together, those .dll files are over 700kb. And if what you're saying is correct, in ROM there are now three copies of those two files (the original mfc80u.dll_/msvcr80.dll_, plus the two copies renamed msfc80u.dll/msvcr80.dll in \Windows and \Windows\oem.

So that would be 2MB of space occupied by just those two files! See why that becomes such a nightmare?

This whole thing came up because in his ROM, colonel is trying to copy some ringer files to \Windows\Rings because the Apache won't see them in \Windows. I was thinking about how unless symbolic linking were used that would mean each ringtone would use up twice as much space, needlessly.

In fact, I would really be surprised if MS didn't take advantage of symbolic linking here. Because having to keep multiple copies of the exact same file just to be able to move it around on the device is a complete waste of space!

If I had time (and didn't need my 6700 for work at the moment) I would easy test this by making an oem package with a big 1MB file. I'd make an initflashfiles.txt for it that would copy it to ten different locations on the device. Then I would try flashing that rom. I would think that an extra 10MB would "bankrupt" the free space on the device so I would get some kind of error while flashing or trying to boot.

If I can't get any kind of definitive answer then I will attempt that experiment, if only to assuage my own curiosity.

Thanks for your reply schettj.

guys its my fault, I think i provide 2 diference set of file, btw I think if u hv:
in registry (default.hv) u just need below text in initflashfiles.txt/dat:

Yes u're correct, we will hv 2 copies of the same files (with difference names sometimes), but since some app need/hardcode the templace/Picture/etc in certain location\names, so we must provide them in spesific location\names...

means, we really copy (not moving) the blank.pwi file to \My Documents\Templates dir and rename it as Blank Note.pwi, not the link or anything, its copy the real file, so we hv 2 copy of them in windows dir and in target dir (with difference name), most of the times we only copy small file or shortcut file (*.LNK files)

initflashfiles.txt is an unicode text (with at least 1 free line at the end) that will be added to initflasfiles.dat (located in Dump dir) after we built the rom with CreateOS.exe, in hardcore rom making (or better I said, rom modding) u need to modified it initflashfiles.dat to change something with the shortcut/link/file but with kitchen u just provide them in OEM pack to do the job...

yes, I'm glad to see that so many custom rom for apache now (maybe will be more in the future??)... congratulation guys! love to see the kitchen era of Apache is working good...

... doubled....

if vista support NETCF 2... then it should work..hehe jokes.. it should work my friend, maybe u hv a corrupt pack?

glad to hear that IPNAT is working...honestly I hv a little about IPNAT and Apache... u just make my day... btw what about the BTPAN support with IPNAT Bushrod?

Cool...I think this is a must...

I can't get CreateOS.exe to run in Vista. Same error.

My question is, why even have the .ddl_ version at all?
Can you not just leave the dll search path alone (don't do your reg addition above) *and* put the correct dlls (I copied them off my working 6700) into the \windows folder, and get rid of the extra copies named .dll_, the OEM folder, and just have the 1 copy of the right file in the right place?

That's what I did in my last attempt - I got rid of the 4 copy actions and the .dll_ files, and just put the .dll files in there.

After all, in my WORKING 6700, there is nothing in \Windows\OEM now.

thats the standar way of that things work..u might check the default/standar rom...

yes, only one is needed, either \Windows\OEM or \Windows only the second way is quite straigforward u not even need to add anything in initflashfiles.txt/dat about mfc***.dl_