Apache WM5 AKU 3.5 Unifed ROM Kitchen 1.0.0 Release!

[luv2chill]

Apache WM5 AKU 3.5 Unified ROM Kitchen Release
Version 1.0.0
4/25/2007


INTRODUCTION:

A couple of months ago we set out to take the excellent AKU 3.3 kitchen that Helmi_C graciously created for us and fix some of the existing bugs and omissions while bringing it up to AKU 3.5 level. Our intent was to create a "base" ROM kitchen that as closely resembled a stock Apache ROM as possible, while still incorporating the newest OS files available to us. We feel we have succeeded in this effort given all the barriers we had to work around. What is being released here is the culmination of hundreds of hours time time put in by the developers and other members of the team. It is not perfect by any means, but as we all know even the stock ROMs were far from perfect. We think that you will find this ROM kitchen to be an improvement over the previous revisions you may have used--we certainly think that it is.

As noted above, this ROM Kitchen was designed to be as close to stock as possible, which means that it has the traditional blue WM5 look and feel and its .NET files are version 1.0 (SP3) only.

However, we know that many (if not most) people are tired of the blue theme and that .NET apps today tend to be written at the 2.0 level. Therefore, we are releasing two patches--one that will replace some WM5 GUI elements with their WM6 counterparts, and another that will supplement the .NET 1.0 SP3 files with .NET 2.0 SP2 (these are the most current service packs as of today). These patches can be found on the FTP in the same directory as the kitchen. Please note they are not OEMs, since they replace files inside the kitchen. Each patch has a readme file that shows how to apply it (it's very simple).

This ROM kitchen release represents the culmination of this project. We certainly hope that others will carry on improving and updating the kitchen into the future.

KNOWN ISSUES:

1. It should be stated that this ROM is not completely at AKU 3.5 level. Many files were either not available in AKU 3.5-era versions or the AKU 3.5 versions did not work properly on the Apache. We used the most recent versions of all files that were available and compatible.

2. Some of the replacements done resulted in some PE files (mostly .dlls) that in the stock ROM were modules being replaced in the form of files. Without getting too technical, a module is a partially deconstructed file that has specific memory regions mapped out. Because of that "customization", modules are device specific. So any files we sourced from other devices had to be converted back to file form before we could use them on the Apache. We think that should not present any problems, but it is possible that it will result in increased memory usage. This was something we ran out of time (and steam) to fully test so hopefully some users would be interested in doing some real world tests using consistent ROM setups. That should help reveal whether memory usage in indeed higher due to the module->file replacements. Some files could be reverted back to their older module-based format if necessary (though this is not planned).

3. The Apache (and indeed many other Windows Mobile devices) has always had problems with its SD card slot. In previous (AKU 1 and 2-based ROMs) Dark Screens of Death (DSODs) were a common occurrance. In AKU 3 the DSODs (or at least the vast majority of them) seem to be gone. However, problems remain with the SD card disappearing ungracefully while the device is suspended. We believe the problem is minimized as much as possible in this release, but it still happens from time to time.

4. Bluetooth is the Apache's other achilles heel. As long as this device has existed people have complained about a whole host of bluetooth issues, including the radio turning itself off automatically, not transferring ringtones or voice call announcements to a headset, severe skipping with A2DP headphones, and many others. On this front we are not sure if we have made bluetooth operation any more reliable. We did replace all bluetooth files with AKU 3 versions (however many are now files as opposed to modules--see #1 above). The bug reports we got from people in terms of bluetooth were so random that it was hard to come to any conclusion of whether bluetooth is truly improved in the Unified ROM Kitchen. Hopefully bluetooth works well for most people. but don't expect any miracles.

BUGS FIXED:

The list of changes is huge, so I won't attempt to duplicate it all here. But a quick summary of the biggest issues that were fixed as a result of this project are:

- USB functionality restored (as well as the switch from RNDIS mode to serial mode)
- Smart Dialer works properly
- ## codes work (so long as you have applied the cab file from your carrier defining their specific codes)
- Speed dial returned to phone app
- Bluetooth PAN profile and Internet Sharing application added
- Missing files restored
- Many files updated from AKU2 level to AKU3 level
- New Apache boot screen (many thanks to PPCGeeks user rawr for his idea--we ended up using a different photo but the idea was all his)

You can view a complete list of all the changes made (and I would encourage you to do so) at Sogarth's P4DB Site.


THANKS TO:

Helmi_C, whose work of art this truly still is (we just made modifications to it).

colonel, ImCoKeMaN, luv2chill, sfaure03, and verizonguy, who all put in a lot of time fixing various bugs.

Sogarth, who deserves his own line here because he truly went above and beyond in not only doing the "Project Manager" role he signed up for, but also fixing a ton of bugs, replacing files with updated versions, testing, and keeping extensive notes on everything--all on his own initiative. This project would have fallen apart weeks ago without Sogarth, so we all owe him an extra debt of thanks.

Thanks also to the other members of the ROM team who flashed the various interim releases and helped us hunt for bugs. Most of us only have one Apache device, so to have to flash it with a potentially buggy ROM (not to mention having to reinstall apps and re-sync data every time) really was a sacrifice. So thank you to those members of the team (they know who they are) who actually took the time to do that.

Finally, thanks to Wideawake, not only for hosting this awesome site for us to use for this effort, but also for all the work he did on Apache ROMs before Helmi_C created the kitchen. Wideawake laid a great deal of the foundation we are all still using today and was putting in the time learning about and testing this stuff while the rest of us were still suffering with our shoddy carrier ROMs. Thanks a million, Mike.

DOWNLOAD

Without further delay, here is the link to the Apache WM5 AKU 3.5 Unified ROM Kitchen (version 1.0.0):

ftp://ppcgeeks:ezupload@ftp.ppcgeeks...d_ROM_Kitchen/

The WM6-theme and .NET CF 2.0 patches are also in that directory. You will need WinRAR to extract them.

Apache WM5 AKU 3.5 Unified ROM Kitchen 1.0.0.rar should be exactly 24,831,930 bytes (MD5 Hash: 23290FC70CF2CB11DF2E9102EF0B6F0F)

NET CF1 + NET CF2 v1.0.0.rar should be 2,891,406 bytes (MD5 hash: B64A099C5557267BF9813B4BD76DAD11)

WM6 Theme v1.0.1.rar patch should be 1,505,642 bytes (MD5 hash: E231D5E0AC7776C99CED47A276B5E8E

CHANGELOG:

4/25/2007: WM6 Theme was updated to v.1.0.1 to add in missing registry entries that change the color of the dialing digits on the phone pad to be visible on the darker WM6 skin. Please re-download this patch. Thanks to brightedge for discovering this bug and colonel for supplying the correct reg entries.

colonel edit:
STOCK OEMS THAT CAN BE REMOVED

MSN1, MSN2, MSN3 These three OEMs install MSN messenger and other apps. All three can be removed from the OEM folder if you wish.

CYBERON VOICE DIALER For those that use Voice Command, feel free to kill this one.

CLEAR STORAGE Since anyone that is building and flashing a rom already knows how to Hard Reset (like a man and luv would say), this app is pretty much useless.

INTELLIPAD This is the SIP option that looks like a phone dial pad and uses T9 for text input. If you do not use it, you can remove this OEM as well

[ImCoKeMaN]

Whoo hoo way to go everyone!!

[elosogrande7076]

i cant say thank u enough to all that have worked on it!!!!

[blazingwolf]

Thanks for all of the work everyone. We really appreciate it.

[schettj]

Yep sogarth gets the gold star... he really did bring this puppy home.

Well done!

[elosogrande7076]

just got done installing and its working great so far...quick question, if i would go to the ftp site and include some of the oems from there in to the oem folder and redo the steps is that basically creating my own custom rom? and if not will it create the same model here but with the new apps i just installed? thanks, im a totally noob with this kinda process

[willysp]

Guys - this is really great news. I'm itching to try it out!

I'm already quite happy with 1.2pre2, so am excited to use this new and improved one.

Having been an imbedded systems developer in an earlier life, I understand some of the issues you faced. But you had the additional complications of a part-time, virtual, unpaid team without access to the HW and OS doc, source and developers. That makes your accomplishment all the more impressive.

Thanks again!!!

[nuguy]

Wooo Hooo!! It's about to get hella busy around here!

[SingularSpartan]

Can anyone post the nk.nba file? I receive an error every time I run CreateOS.exe (I'm running Vista, so it's possibly related to that).

And thanks a lot to everyone who worked on this project. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

[friguy3]

this is great! not that i have taken the jump to making my own custom rom yet...this may be the push i needed! i still find it unbelievable what some of you can do...keep it up for the rest of us!!!