As n00b as a n00b can be.
 

As some of you may have seen already, I have somebody making me a theme for my new HTC Diamond. I've done as much searching as I can between being at work and in studio so I'm coming to y'all for help. I know NOTHING about putting stuff on your phone. I didn't know about tweaks until maybe a few days ago, and I definately don't have the technological smarts to figure them out on my own. So I have a few minor questions to ask and you can either respond by simply telling me what I need to do, or a direct link to a page that would help me out would be great.

1.) What kind of software do I need to download onto my phone in order to actually tweak my phone? Is there software out there that I plug all this information into or what? If so, where can I find it?

2.) I'm having somebody make me a theme as I stated earlier (they're being paid for it) and I need to know how exactly I place this theme on my phone. Like I also stated earlier, I'm not smart enough with this phone yet to understand exactly what y'all are doing to really customize your phones. True noob right?

3.) I'd like to extend the battery life on it and I saw some people talking about tweaks to do this earlier, where can I find these and how would I actually put them on my phone?

](*,) I know my noobness (is that even a word) is probably almost annoying to some of you that are clearly brilliant when it comes to doing this kind of stuff. I've done a lot of searching but I can't seem to really find the basics in terms of how you all are even doing this. I have no idea what .cab is or manila or anything along those lines. Heck, we can use this thread as the official "Custom For Dummies" thread if we have too. I just need some real help, and I don't have the time to devote reading into many threads on the matter. I really hope y'all can help me out. Thanks and sorry so long. :(

Kodak

Re: As n00b as a n00b can be.
 

My man, i got my diamond when it came out and didn't know about the custom and wonderful things that could be done to these phones till about afew weeks ago like you i knew nothing but with alil reading and trying afew things, i now cook my own rom exactly how i like my phone... I now know how to create my own oem packages from cabs and learning more daily thanks to this great forum and xda.

In others words all the information you need is already here and it doesn't take much... just alil effort.

Re: As n00b as a n00b can be.
 

This is the answer to your question. You have to read. There is no one simple explanation that can help you. Everybody here started off not knowing how a PPC Device worked. You just need to jump into and play around. I recommend reading as much as you can. :)

Re: As n00b as a n00b can be.
 

Unfortunately that was what I was talking about earlier. I spend 8 hours at work a day then turn around and spend 8 in the studio, then I guess sleeping has become somewhat of a necessity. I don't need anybody to type out pages of how to do stuff, but I don't really have the time to do more research then I already have. Links to pages that would help would be nice.

Re: As n00b as a n00b can be.
 

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/search.php

Type in what your looking for... kinda like magic :)

Re: As n00b as a n00b can be.
 

Haha trust me I've used it, that seems to be the issue. As somebody said earlier he's "cooking" his own "rom" and making his own "oems". Thats all I can find in this forum, but I have no idea what any of that is. Like I kid you guys not, I know nothing about any of this stuff. I dont understand ANYTHING that people talk about on this site, its all over my head.

Re: As n00b as a n00b can be.
 

Okay yeah that was you that said that.

Re: As n00b as a n00b can be.
 

1. in order to make tweaks you will need a registry editor. there are 2 good ones i can think of off the top of my head. phm registry editor and total commander. do a search and you should find a cab for them. if not ill post one later tonight.

2. the theme im making will be easy to install. ill just put it in a .zip file and all you'll have to do is unzip it to your /windows folder.

3. most battery tweaks are spread out over the forum, the best way to find them is by searching. or alternatively you can load a custom rom which has all the tweaks included (see the diamond upgrade forum stickies to find out more about this)

as for what a .cab file is...basically you save the file onto your device, for example i save mine in "internal storage/cabs" (you can store them where ever you want). then after it is saved use the "file explorer" (its in the programs menu) to navigate to where you stored it. when you see the file just click on it and the .cab will do whatever it was designed to do. some .cab files install programs, some just make registery changes, some install files to your phone, etc. but they are mostly used for installing applications

Re: As n00b as a n00b can be.
 

Awesome, you're a BIG help. Can't wait to see the finished product, any idea when it will be done?

Re: As n00b as a n00b can be.
 

i finished drawing out the icons, ill try to post a mock up of what my idea is tomorrow (cause actally convering the images to manilla files, then putting the manilla files on my phone to take screen shots is a long and tedious process)...once we have a mock up you like then ill go ahead and convert all the images and package it up for you (converting the files usually takes a day to do)