THREEFACES' Walk-Through: Installing/Customizing the latest NRG ROM

THIS IS FOR MANILA 2.1. IF YOU'RE USING A 2.5 ROM GO TO THIS THREAD

[This is obviously out of date, but there's still some excellent information for new folks that isn't Rom-specific to Energy. Hopefully you'll find something useful.]

INTRODUCTION
These are not detailed instructions, per se, but rather a walk-through of my experiences installing and customizing the latest NRG ROM on my Sprint Touch Pro. When new NRG builds are released, I'll update the information here to reflect important changes, new fixes, etc. Please note, this edition of the Guide is dedicated specifically to Manila 2.1. If you're looking for information for the 2.5 releases, use the link above or the one's in my sig. I just want folks to know "where they are" to avoid confusion.

If there are two base builds released at the same time, for example 21864 and 23504, for Manila 2.1, I will likely update the Thread with the version I prefer and provide a PDF version of the Guide for the other Build.

This is under construction, so please PM me if you have any suggestions or find issues with the information I'm providing. The majority of this is pulled together from a ton of resources and there are definitely instances where someone might not be credited...if you see something you created/recommended, again, PM me and I'll be sure to credit you properly. Likewise, if something should be removed, please let me know.

If you would like to write up an addition to the Guide, say for carrier-specific issues or any other area that has not yet been covered, feel free to PM me with the info and I'll be more than happy to add it. THERE IS A NEW SECTION WITH NON-SPRINT INFORMATION NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE THREAD...thanks MURDUCKY.

There's also been talk of expanding the Guide to help new users of other ROMs. I don't have time to keep up with all of the ROMs for the TP, but again, if you'd like to take the basic structure here and apply it to another ROM, PM me and we can coordinate. I'd love to see the Guide expand to be more useful to the greater community.

Thank you to everyone who is referenced here in the Guide, NRG for the killer ROM, Codybear for inspiring the idea to convert this into a thread, and the entire PPCGeeks Community for all of your hard work and knowledge sharing!

OK, let's see how we can get this set up to be the most helpful.

PLEASE DO NOT POST QUESTIONS HERE RELATED TO NRG ROM - THIS THREAD IS TO SERVE AS A RESOURCE FOR NEW USERS AND SHOULD NOT BE BOGGED DOWN WITH USER ISSUES. YOU'RE FREE TO PM ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS, BUT PLEASE KEEP THEM FOCUSED ON THE GUIDE. [New fixes, upgrades to software, new links, better recommendations, etc. are ALL welcome].

Link to NRG ROM Thread: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=69545


BEFORE WE BEGIN, A WORD OF CAUTION
IMPORTANT! You should be very comfortable with the processes of locking and unlocking your phone, flashing custom ROMS…AND returning your phone back to a stock ROM should you need to do that. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should take a few days and do some research….read. Failure to do so will most likely result in your having a $600 paperweight. Don’t brick your phone – read and ask questions first.


HOW TO UNLOCK AND FLASH
Check this thread out: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=69854

HOW TO UNLOCK AND FLASH FROM THE SD CARD
Check this thread out: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=61333

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A PDF version of the Guide can be downloaded from my sig. It may have slightly more up-to-date information than this thread and/or may include some extra links and additional information that I didn't see fit to post here directly.

Installing ENERGY ROM “Standard” – TouchFlo 2.1
Build 28011: December 9, 2009 [Guide Updated: 12/15/09]
A PDF Guide for this Build, 28011, can be downloaded HERE.
A PDF Guide for a November Build of 21864 can be downloaded HERE.

THE BASICS

These are NOT flashing instructions. Please visit the links above for the correct unlocking and flashing processes if this is your first time flashing a custom ROM. These initial steps are glossed over, since it is assumed that you have already learned to flash. This is just one last additional warning.

1. [OPTIONAL] Some users flash to a stock ROM before flashing to a custom one. This is an optional step, but is recommended to help ensure a good flash. We call this procedure the “flashdance”. This step is totally optional. If you’re scratching your head wondering why I’d suggest this, just move on.
2. Flash ENERGY Build 28011 December 9 ROM [Standard version] - Let the customizations run – the device will soft reset after it’s all configured.
3. Hard Reset [using wipe device] – after the customizations run and the device resets itself, you should perform another Hard Reset [using “Wipe Device” in START-SETTINGS-SYSTEM]. The ROM will run the customizations again, and will once again reset itself.
4. Once the device boots back up, take a moment to snoop around to make sure things are looking good and that the basic features are functioning for you [phone, data, gps]. You don’t want to customize your device to find that you need to hard reset and flash again because your GPS isn’t connecting or your data is inactive. This also helps to identify the root cause of problems. Once you start syncing data and adding cabs, it’s much harder to figure out what could be causing an issue you may experience.
5. You should now be looking at a basic installation of NRG’s ROM. Do the dance of joyness….you now have the power to move mountains!

RESTORING MY DATA [ActiveSync and MyPhone]

1. Reestablish your sync relationship with ActiveSync. I use ActiveSync to restore contacts, events, and email [through Outlook].
   • Make sure you check the box during the set up process to allow for wireless data connections while you’re connected to ActiveSync, or you could lose some phone functionality when connected to a USB.
   • I’ve read in some places that ActiveSync has issues with syncing “favorites” and “tasks”. I don’t know if this is really a problem or not, but I do not sync these through ActiveSync. If you have issues, you might try deselecting those two options.
   • If you have trouble with the PC recognizing your device go to START-SETTINGS-SYSTEM-USB Settings and disable the check box for “Enable faster data sync” underneath the ActiveSync listing. If this doesn’t help, try disconnecting the device from the PC and deleting the sync relationship with the device. Then reconnect and establish a new sync relationship.
2. Configured/Restored sync relationship with MS MyPhone – this utility is cooked in to NRG’s ROM under START-SETTINGS. It’s a great service for backing up all of your data…it will even back up your storage card. NOTE: There is an update to this software, so you will be prompted to install a new version when you configure it, before you can use it. HERE is an updated version of the cab you can install manually, or use with your SASHIMI configuration.
   • I’ve run into problems with syncing with MyPhone before ActiveSync [after a hard reset]. I end up with duplicate contacts and some duplicate calendar events. Syncing with ActiveSync first, then MyPhone seems to eliminate these conflicts.
   • Even though I select “Automatic Updates” during the set up process, after I sync with MyPhone I go back into the program’s settings and make sure the sync schedule is properly configured. It usually ends up defaulting to “manual” after install.
3. You should now have a basic installation of the ROM with all of your data. This is a good time to make sure all of the data has been restored properly…poke around and look for duplicate items or missing data [check calendar items, contacts, and text messages in both TouchFlo and standard “Windows” views to make sure they’ve restored proper]. If everything looks good, call your friends and challenge their iPhones to a duel!

ADDING MY CUSTOM CITY WEATHER AND WORLD CLOCK

1. Some folks might want to try the Weather Database Editor 2.1.
   
   If that doesn’t work out for you, you can check out this thread here: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=81108 – conflipper has provided a database for install that includes every US city and some for Canada and Mexico. It’s a simple cab that can be installed easily – read the thread to determine if this is the method you want to use or not.
   
   If you want to customize your weather database manually, continue reading to the next Step…otherwise, do this and move on to the next section, “CUSTOMIZING WEATHER - WEATHER IN THE CALENDAR DAY-VIEW”.
2. [OPTIONAL – DO THIS IF YOU DIDN’T DO STEP 1] If you already edited your 2330fc3c_manila with your city for a previous build and saved it to your PC or storage card, you do not need to edit it again. Simply disable TouchFlo, copy the file to your Windows directory, and enable TouchFlo. …you should be good. If this is your first time editing the 2330fc3c_manila to include your city, read on to Step 3.
3. [OPTIONAL – DO THIS IF YOU DIDN’T DO STEP 1] Manila 2.1 Custom Weather - Add a City
   1. I like this method…it works and you can name your city whatever you want to in the database and have an edited manila file for future flashes [this is helpful if you use SASHIMI].
   2. Download sqliteadmin to your PC
   3. Download 2330fc3c_manila HERE or copy it from your phone’s \Windows directory to your PC [turn off touchflo before attempting to extract this file or it may be locked].
   4. Open sqladmin
   5. Select Database-Open from the top bar
   6. Navigate to the manila file on your PC. Be sure you’re viewing “All Files” otherwise you won’t see the manila listed.
   7. With the manila open in sqladmin, select the “Edit Data” tab above the right side display.
   8. Now, select “cities” from the left side display box, under “Tables”. This should display the weather database.
   9. Find a city in the list that is in your time zone – a city close to you that you don’t plan to use, and edit that database entry with your city’s information.
   10. Change the city name, state, and accuweather code [look at how the other codes are set up and input your information in the same format]. If you have trouble with this, go to accuweather.com and search for your city’s weather. In the URL, you will see your city code. In my example below, what’s in red bold is my “accuweather code”. http://www.accuweather.com/us/va/annandale/22003/city-weather-forecast.asp?partner=accuweather&u=1&traveler=1
   11. When you’re finished editing the database, just close out of sqladmin, your changes will be saved. You can reopen the file now and check to see that your changes took before moving on…just in case.
   12. Turn off TouchFlo. Go to START-SETTINGS-TODAY then scroll to the Items Tab and deselect TouchFLO 3D. This is how you turn TouchFlo “on” and “off”.
   13. Copy the new 2330fc3c_manila back to your phone using Total commander or Resco Explorer – consider putting it on your storage card so you can copy it over easily next time you flash. Then, copy it into \Windows and overwrite the existing file.
   14. Soft Reset. Restart touchflo. Check to see if your changes took.
   
   

CUSTOMIZING WEATHER - WEATHER IN THE CALENDAR DAY-VIEW

1. Click on World Clock and try to add your city. If you don’t see it listed in the database, try rebooting TouchFlo [disable/enable] and see if that helps. If you still don’t see it, make sure you edited 2330fc3c_manila correctly [if you did Step 14] and that you successfully copied it to the \Windows directory.
2. [OPTIONAL] Remove all of the other cities.
3. Now, with your city selected in World Clock, you should see the weather displayed correctly in the Calendar day-view. If you do not, go to the Weather tab and make sure you’ve added your city and updated its information. NOTE: This setting determines whether or not you see the weather in the Calendar Day-View…if you don’t see your cities weather there, then there is a problem with this setting in World Clock.

CHECKING YOUR TIME AND TIMEZONE SETTINGS

1. You may or may not need to adjust the time after a flash. If you do just click the clock on the home screen [World Clock]. If your time setting is off, with your custom city selected, adjust the time.
2. Your timezone settings are configured in START-SETTINGS-Clocks & Alarms. Changes to your time and timezone settings here in Clocks and Alarms control how your appointments are displayed in the calendar. So, if you happen to notice your calendar appointments are "off" by some time, you should check these settings.

NEW MYLOCATION WEATHER in WEATHER TAB

This build has a new feature that will use GPS to determine where you are and then updates your Weather tab for that location. Very cool. Your custom city should be listed as the second city in the Weather Tab – the first city now uses MyLocation. To get it going:

1. Slide over to the Weather Tab in TouchFlo.
2. Press the Menu softkey
3. Select “Settings”
4. Enable “Download weather automatically” and “show weather at my location”
5. Accept the User Agreement and you should be good. The device will use GPS to figure out where you are and display the weather. NOTE: your custom city is still what appears in the Calendar Day-View.
6. BUG: If you have trouble with MyLocation updating [like it will not open the data connection to update], make sure you have a second city listed in the Weather tab and that your weather database manila was properly configured. If you used coinflipper’s cab, check his thread for updates.

SETTING UP EMAIL, ADJUSTING THE ACCOUNT OPTIONS, and RENAMING "OUTLOOK" on the MAIL TAB

I have two Hotmail accounts and two Gmail accounts that I like to dump into my phone. Configuration worked a little differently on this build [thanks blockhead428]:

1. I first set up my primary Hotmail account [use the "Other" option]. Hotmail works by syncing through an integration with Windows Live - it will automatically find the settings and configure itself. This speeds up the set up process a little, but makes it difficult to add another Hotmail account [attempting to do so will open Opera and ask you to log into Windows Live as a different user]. The good news is there’s a simple workaround to get multiple accounts going.
2. To configure a second Hotmail account, I needed to do a little dance:
   1. Go to the email wizard or go to set up a new email account and select "Other"
   2. In the email address field type in an incomplete address “myhotmail@hotmail” and put something in the password field, then press Next
   3. The device won’t be able to auto config the new email account because those settings are wrong, so instead it will prompt you to configure the second account manually using pop settings
   4. Now you can enter in your real username and password to continue.
   5. Hotmail settings are “pop3.live.com” and “smtp.live.com”. Outgoing server requires authentication. Use the same password for incoming and outgoing email. That should do it.
   6. Next, I configured my Gmail accounts – the wizard handles Gmail accounts without a problem. You can even set up multiple accounts without having to do the dance we just did for Hotmail. NOTE: you can now set up Gmail to sync with your Google calendars, contacts, and email through ActiveSync. It will conflict with any other Exchange Servers you may be syncing with. For more information, go HERE.
3. [OPTIONAL] Rename "OUTLOOK" on the mail tab. By default, the first mailbox on the mail tab is set for Exchange Email and is named "OUTLOOK". With the new Gmail push service, you may want to rename this account to something else, like "Gmail Push" or something. Here's an easy reg edit from tcbusch:
   1. HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Inbox\Svc\ActiveSync
      FriendlyName = "Outlook E-mail"
4. Adjusted my email account options:
   1. To adjust the “Account” options after you set up an account, open the inbox of one of your accounts.
   2. Press the Menu soft key and scroll down to “Tools”
   3. Scroll down to “Options”
   4. Scroll through the tabs and enable “display account picker when opening messaging”, if it isn't already – this will open this “picker” view, so you don’t have to do the aforementioned steps again. J NOTE: Apparently, doing this will stop your inboxes from randomly opening, if you experience that problem.
   5. You can also set your attachments to save to the storage card from here.
   
   

SOUNDS AND NOTIFICATIONS

1. START-SETTINGS-Sounds and Notifications
   1. Call your phone to confirm your ringer settings work. This is a good time to identify a problem.
2. [OPTIONAL] There’s a program called “Keep My Tones” that works perfectly for saving your ringtone-contact assignments and all of your sound notifications for various events…great stuff for frequent flashers, check it out: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=540755

BACKLIGHT/POWER SETTINGS – Backlight Options.

1. START-SETTINGS-SYSTEM-Power Settings
   1. Adjusted backlight options. I like to keep the backlight on all the time and bright when connected to a power source, but use the dimming options to help save some battery life.
2. [OPTIONAL – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR BETTER BATTERY LIFE] - Install Lumos. This program will automatically adjust your backlight to the optimal setting given the current light environment [this is all highly customizable to the user’s preferences]. It is also customizable to specific programs – for example, when I launch Navigation, Lumos knows to boost my backlight to a higher setting than any other program. I was put off by Lumos at first because it seems like a very complicated program to configure properly, but honestly, once you get it set up you’ll never have to touch the program again…and the battery saving benefits are impressive. Here’s some killer info from ASKWHY about this program and some help for getting optimal settings: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread...ht#post1084116

QUICKMENU – WHAT IS IT?
Quickmenu is a new feature to the ROM build that replaces the old task manager/”X” button/ Showcase. It takes some getting used to. To launch Quickmenu, touch the area where the Start button used to be [you may need your stylus]…a “quick list” very similar to the old WinMo start menu will display. You can adjust some options in QUICKMENU-OPTION.


MAPPING QUICKMENU FOR QUICK ACCESS – QuickMenu is a great addition to the ROM, but we don’t want to have to pull the stylus out everytime we want to kill some running programs, so we’ll want to create a shortcut that’s a bit more finger-friendly. First, open up QuickMenu [click where the old “Start” button was] and go into the “Option” section [QuickMenu-Option]. Move over to the “Command” tab. Highlight “QuickMenu” in the list of Programs and Actions and select “Create Shortcut”. This will display a folder view where you can configure where a shortcut to this program will be listed in the START Menu. With a link in the START Menu, we’ll be able to map this to a hardware button [long press of the send key] or place a link on the Programs tab.

To set QuickMenu to a hardware button:
Go to START-SETTINGS-PERSONAL-Buttons. Here you can set a long press of the send or end keys to bring up QuickMenu.

CUSTOMIZING THE LOOK OF TOUCHFLO – SOFT KEY ASSIGNMENTS, WALLPAPERS, ACTION SCREENS and DISPLAYED TABS

• REASSIGNING THE SOFT KEYS in TouchFlo - Touch Pro Tweek is cooked into this ROM. You can find it in START- TOOLS-TWEEKS-Touch Pro Tweek. I’ve used this application to successfully reassign the right soft key to Camera, but you can choose from a variety of programs and actions. [soft reset to apply changes]
  1. I have not had luck using Advanced Configuration to perform the key reassignment. Also, the SoftKey Manager program [START-TOOLS-Softkey Manager] will only reassign the soft keys in Titanium, not TouchFlo.

• WHICH TABS ARE DISPLAYED IN TF3D – Slide over to the Settings Tab in TouchFlo to customize which tabs are displayed in your slider [I remove the stocks, music, and photos tabs – TouchFlo, not the device, will automatically restart itself after applying changes]

• WALLPAPER - You can set your own custom wallpaper [for TouchFlo ONLY] here in the Settings Tab. Make sure your wallpaper is the correct resolution - 640x640 – to avoid lag issues when flipping between portrait and landscape.

• WALLPAPER ON ALL PAGES - If you’re looking for background/wallpaper on all pages, we have two new options. NOTE: the old cabs that functioned on 2.0 will not work.
  1. Background for All Pages – http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=551614
  2. Panoramic Wallpaper - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=547941
     1. BUG FIX: There is a fix for Pano Wallpaper related specifically to NRG ROM. If you notice your panoramic image shifts when you slide across the tabs, install this cab, Gen Y pano-slide move down fix2b.
     2. BUG FIX 2: If you notice the default NRG wallpaper is still intact on the homescreen, go to the Settings Tab, click on Wallpaper, and select “yes” when prompted to use the default wallpaper.

• START MENU WALLPAPER - Go to START-SETTINGS-Today. On the “Appearance” Tab you can change your Today picture to a custom one by clicking “Use this picture as the background” and browsing to a custom image on your device. This will NOT change your wallpaper in TouchFlo, but WILL change the wallpaper of your “Start Menu”…which is pretty cool. It will also be the default wallpaper if you disable TouchFlo.
  1. In the same area [START-SETTINGS-Today], click on the “Items” tab and uncheck Today timeout. This should address a few known bugs…that I cannot for the life of me recall. Just do it.
     
     
• ENERGY THEMED WALLPAPERS – Looking for some ENERGY Themed Wallpapers [standard and panoramic sizes]? Check out my post HERE – three panoramic wallpapers and five standard size versions.

• CUSTOM ACTION SCREEN – I really like the new ENERGY THEMED Action Screen that’s included in this build of the ROM. If you’re looking for more, here are some great action screens to check out: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=58625 . NOTE: you will need to stop the Action Screen process from running or you may encounter an error when trying to install a new one. Got o START-TOOLS –TASK MANAGER…find the Action Screen process, and stop it.
  • Customize the Action Screen: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=58625 – this thread has some information on remapping icons in the Action Screen, like Navigation to a custom program.

SOME THEME CHANGES – TURNING UP THE AWESOME TO 11
The new 2.1 Manila brings with it some new issues. While most graphical changes should work, many mods from 2.0 will not. If something doesn’t work, it’s likely not compatible with 2.1.

• Disable Manila/TouchFlo – START-SETTINGS-TODAY, scroll to the Items Tab and deselect TouchFLO 3D. Whenever you install any cab to make any change to TouchFlo it should be disabled.
  
  

• [OPTIONAL] THEME - I install Psyki’sGlassManillaTheme.cab [requires soft reset]. This gives me all of the cool customizations I want to the theme without changing my clock. I’m a big fan of Psyki’s visual customizations…gorgeous ROMs as well. [I don’t have a direct link right now for this cab – Google it. If you find it and like it, please thank Psyki] for updates and to check out the developer’s other work.

• [OPTIONAL] WHITE FLIP CLOCK – this build comes with a dark flipper clock. It’s nice, but not my style entirely. To restore the white clock, install White Clock.cab [thanks ASKWHY]. I should note that the “number flipping” animation works in 2.1.

• [OPTIONAL] COMPACT HOMESCREEN - If you want to revert to the “stock” layout, install Psyki4 – Original Home Tab.cab.
  1. Read this thread over at XDA and install the best version of compact home screen for your tastes. If you install this mod and see a white box in the upper left hand corner of your screen, you probably need to install a version that supports background for all pages. You may notice some problems with this mod displaying properly in landscape mode. If you don’t like it, you can uninstall, then keep up on the thread until the developer fixes landscape.
  2. NOTE: home screen mods that worked in 2.0 to move the date and next alarm info above the clock, or cabs that hide call history, etc will NOT work and may mess up the function of TouchFlo. Use the cabs in the thread above.
     
     
• [OPTIONAL] CONFIGURE a 3 or 4 ROW PROGRAMS TAB – There is a new utility cooked into the ROM under START-TOOLS called Program Tab Toolbox that will let you select a 3 or 4 row programs tab as well as change the submenu to the older list style. Super awesome addition!

• [OPTIONAL] TASKBAR ICONS - WARNING! There are not many new taskbars for 6.5.1 yet…taskbars that worked in 6.5 will NOT work in 6.5.1 and may disable access to the START menu, forcing you to hard reset to get things back to working order. Here’s one that works to get you going: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=562251 or check out Tsowens’ thread at PPCGeeks for updates on his latest developments.
  1. NOTE: changing the taskbar icons set my “waiting notification” [the circle thingy] back to the four colored dots. There’s no current way to use custom taskbar icons and retain the waiting notification.
     
     
• [OPTIONAL] HIDE THE SLIDER - Hide the Slider Bar in Portrait Mode [works like it does in Landscape…super awesome]. Follow the thread HERE
  1. IMPORTANT NOTE: Save the “2a3d01cc_manila” file from your Windows directory to a safe place before installing so, if you don’t like the results, you can revert back to the original slider by copying this file back to your Windows directory.
  2. Make sure TouchFlo is disabled
  3. Install Fredz’s TF3D RMSB V0.12.cab [or latest release from xda] [requires soft reset]
  4. Enable TouchFlo to test it out.
  5. KNOWN ISSUES – check the thread for the latest bugs. Slider may not auto hide in the Weather tab – tap the slider in the Weather tab to hide it as a work around. Hidden slider will not display missed calls/sms bubbles, but you can see them if you pop the slider bar up. The developer is working on a notification bubble for the hidden slider.
  6. NOTE: – installing this will knock out the default “background on all tabs” and wallpaper in portrait mode. Uninstall will restore these.
     
     
• [OPTIONAL] HIDDEN SLIDER MOD – you can completely hide the slider button by installing this second mod – DV’s LP Slider Up.cab – this turns the little button transparent, so you need to press where the icon should be to pop the slider up. Try it and you’ll see. To get back to the original slider, uninstall these cabs. To get back to the hidden slider without the completely transparent button, install this fix by J.eremy
  
  
• [OPTIONAL] PERSONALIZER – Allows you to put a custom name in where the carrier name is usually displayed on the home screen. So you can change “Sprint” to say “All your ROM are belong to us”. Here’s the thread: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=21538

MORE HOT CAB INSTALL ACTION – voice command, picture mail, battery enhancements, etc….mostly cab fixes and add-ons.

1. Inbox Extender.cab – adds an option to “mark all as read” in the email menu options when viewing your inbox. This is actually quite useful.

SPRINT ARCSOFT PICTURE MAIL [UPDATED ARCSOFT to V5.2.1.22 with voice texting] [thanks jakdillard!]

1. Run the Remove Picture Mail & Arcsoft cab [soft reset must be performed for this to work]. If you get an error that this cab could not be installed, check your Task Manager to see if a picturemail process is running. If it is, stop/kill it. Then install the cab...it should work.
2. Run Sprint Arcsoft MMS 5.2.1.22 cab [requires soft reset] – this cab was taken from a Diamond2, ported for VGA devices, and set up for Sprint PCS. This updated version of ARCSOFT adds an option to send a voice message as a text. If you are upgrading [and have an older version of ARCSOFT already installed on your device] you MUST run the uninstall cab first….follow this exact procedure.
3. You should now have picture mail installed. NOTE: picture mail is now part of your regular text messaging – it’s not in a special separate location. Received picture mail will show up in the threaded view along with your other text messages for a given contact…except they’ll have an attachment icon. Click the attachment…view the pic. In the new TouchFlo text screen, click Menu-Reply with MMS to send a pic message to a contact. In the old messaging view, you must start a new text to send voice or picture mail – you cannot attach images or voice into the threaded view as a reply. The last version of Acrsoft may allow for this...here's the cab if you want to try it out: Sprint Arcsoft MMS 5.0.82.79 cab
4. ADJUST ARCSOFT SETTINGS [larger attachments, screen resolution, etc.]
   ·Go to the Messages Tab
   ·Press “All Messages”
   ·Press “Menu”
   ·Scroll down to MMS OPTIONS
   ·You can change the picture resolution settings here on the first tab
   ·Move over to the Servers Tab
   ·Press The Listed Server [should be SprintMMS]
   You can change the size of mms attachments here [sent and received] .

VOICE COMMAND
[Google Search for these, as I assume they're not freeware]

1. MSVC1.6.20771 or MSVC 1.6.21725.cab [installs voice command– soft reset is recommended] – I have used both v1.6.20771 and .21725 without any problems, but I do not regularly use Bluetooth with this program, so I cannot confirm which cab works best with Bluetooth [for announcements]. I provided both, so you can figure out which works best for you and your needs.
2. If you get an error during/after installing the cab, soft reset, and check if it installed. If not, try it again until you get it – sometimes it seems like the install failed, but it works fine after a soft reset.
3. Set preferences in START-SETTINGS-PERSONAL-Voice Command - to stop announcements of texts, events and phone calls, if you’re not into that. …or enable it, if you are.
4. While you’re in that section [START-SETTINGS-PERSONAL], go into “Buttons” and assign a key to launch Voice Command. I set the long press of the send key to launch the voice prompt. “Send (Hold)”.
5. Check Voice Command – activate it using whatever button you just assigned, and then speak something like “Call Jim” or someone from your contacts to see if it’s responding. If not…do over!

[OPTIONAL] PHOTO ALBUM WITH SOCIAL NETWORK UPLOAD - I WANT THE OPTION TO UPLOAD TO FACEBOOK!

The photo album works fine, but if you like the older album and/or would like the ability to upload photos quickly to Facebook, follow these steps:

1. Install HTC Album with Social Networking Engine cab [requires soft reset]
2. Install Duttys Facebook upload fix cab [Don’t lean on me man, cause you can’t afford the ticket…time for soft reset city!] ß it’s ok if you don’t get the joke, just soft reset. J
3. Now, take a picture of yourself in the bathroom mirror and upload it to Facebook! It’s a couple of key strokes from snapping a pic to uploading – pretty slick. NOTE: You may lose some of the functionality of the new Album by reverting back to the old [makes sense]…it’s a matter of taste whether you prefer the new or old.

FACEBOOK INTEGRATION IN CONTACTS

There are some things here worth noting:

1. Be sure that your phone contact names match your Facebook friends’ usernames [first and last names] or the integration won’t work – you’ll get a “no data” type error.
2. I’ve run into issues if I am syncing friends’ birthdays through Facebook integration. After a re-flash, when I use ActiveSync to restore my events, all of the Facebook birthday events become corrupted. As a workaround, I only use the Facebook integration to auto sync pictures.
3. You control your Facebook login in START-SETTINGS-CONNECTIONS-Account Manager. You’ll also notice your YouTube login is controlled here.

BATTERY STUFF

This stuff may or may not work for you. You really need to do some research about what you can do to help get better life out of your device in general, then, apply that knowledge to get at the battery life you want/need. All I know for sure is that there are no known “sets” of enhancements that work for everyone across the board.

So many factors come into play with regard to battery life. You’re using a custom ROM…try to use some common sense before blasting the Chef for his free ROM sucking up your precious battery life. Any increase in speed or performance will degrade battery life – something’s gotta give. Backlight settings, what radio you’re using and where you live, polling settings for various features, checking your email every 5 minutes on seven accounts, etc. will all impact battery life. Do what’s best for you and your device. Google search to see what others have done…experiment.

Also, keep in mind the battery icon will drop from 100% to about 90-95% VERY fast. This is, again, a known issue. Don’t judge the battery life on the first five minutes of using the ROM…use it for a day or two to get a better gauge of what’s really up. Even on the older versions of the ROM, I never once had the device die on me. That said…read on.

1. Install LUMOS!!! [I posted a link earlier in the Guide and I HIGHLY recommend it for battery life]. Backlight options can have the biggest impact! Simply reducing your backlight brightness can double your battery life.
2. Look into switching up your Radio. If your device isn't getting great service, it will use up a lot of battery power constantly searching for a good signal. Experimenting with different radios can have a dramatic impact on battery performance, depending on where you live...especially if you're in a poor coverage area. Here's the link to the "12 Radios" thread: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=74422
3. Make sure Push Internet is disabled. Go to the Internet Tab in Touchflo and press the "Menu" softkey. Go to "Data Settings" and disable Push Internet.
4. Check to see that Location Setting is "Off". This can cause general sluggishness and drain as the device collects locational data. START-SETTINGS-SYSTEM.
5. Here's a thread with some great information on batteries - calibration and such: http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index...arch&s=battery
6. Maxx134 – BatterySaving ReducePollingIntervals.cab [makes a bunch of polling edits to reduce power consumption.http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showpost.p...ostcount=11227 Here are the individual registry values that are changed with this cab:

Drivers/BuiltIn: error reporting -12000000
battery/poll interval -25000 GSensor 1000
Software/: HTC/HTCSensor/GSensor -1000
Opera/GSensor -1000
System/CurrentControlSet/Control/Power/Timeouts/:
batterpoll -1000
For GSensor settings: I did not increase values further because it would increase rota
tion delay.
I set them to "average"l rom values.
The original settings were way less than other roms and prob set for faster rotation, at expense of battery.
Other polling was found on my reg search and so also increased moderately.

NAVIGATION
[Google Search for these, as I assume they're not freeware]

1. I recently got my hands on the Telenav Sprint PPC 5.5.18 cab. This is a significant upgrade to the cab I list below. In order to get things set up, you will need your pin number - try the last 4 digits of your phone number. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to install Sprint Navigation [cab below] first and go into options to find it. Once you get Telenav set up properly, you can always delete Sprint Nav.
2. [OPTIONAL] Installed Sprint Nav PPC 2.1.23 cab ß-graphics work perfect in this version.
   1. a.After install, I usually log in and check to make certain GPS is working, since I rely on this program when I’m on-the-go.

LOCK SCREEN - I’ve had success with S2U2. Calls come in fine, notifications work, and I can get four or five appointments displayed on the screen [beyond today and tomorrow]. You can also set the weather to “touchflo 3d” [in S2U2 Settings] and it will pull your city’s weather and display it as well. Additionally, you can enable vibrate on call connect with this program [in S2U2 Settings, under Feedback].

ALARM - I prefer G-Alarm to the standard built in version. The stock alarm has been reported to cause problems [notifications not going off...which renders it useless]. I use my device as an alarm, so I definitely recommend people check out G-Alarm. It's not freeware, but there are older free versions available if you Google search [versions prior to 2.x, I think are freeware]. Otherwise, I think I paid $6 for the software license and it performs flawlessly. It's very customizable, has a ton of features, and integrates perfectly with Touchflo. Check out the developers site: http://www.ageye.de/index.php?s=galarm/aboutHe just released [10/2/09] a new version of the software!

WORLDCARD MOBILE – this is no longer preinstalled in the ROM. Use this version WorldCard Mobile.cab

NEW VERSION OF INCALL TWEEKS - Touch InCall Screen Tweek – Link to Thread or Link to the v 1.2.0.cab - 3 Sep 2009 - v1.2.0 - Bugfix Update - This version addresses a bug that has been around for a while, but has been difficult to track down. It appears that an early beta introduced an excessive battery drain for some users, and this has now been tracked down, and addressed.

OTHER STUFF – known issues/bugs/common problems/misc.

MY PHONE IS FREEZING UP/SOFT RESET FORCES A HARD RESET – this happened to me the very first time I flashed a custom 6.5 ROM. It sucked…a lot. The worst part was not really getting a clear answer as to what caused it or how best to address it. Ultimately, I tried flashing back to Stock on someone’s recommendation and was able to resolve the problem for good.
Hard reset, flash your device back to a Stock ROM, hard reset, soft reset, flash your device to the custom ROM of your choice, hard reset, soft reset. It seems like a lot of work, and it will take a bit of time to let the device run its customizations, BUT this method will fix your problem and get you back up and running. If you simply flash to another ROM, the problem will likely follow you. It’s worth taking the time to run this method and get the device back on solid footing. After doing so, I’ve never had a lock up. If it doesn’t work for you, please PM me…as far as I can gather, this works every time.

VIBRATE ON CONNECT - I think there was a very subtle vibrate on connect working in the last build, but it doesn't seem to be happening now. As a workaround, you can install a lock screen program like S2U2 [referenced above under the "Lock Screen" section]. In S2U2 Settings, under Feedback, you can enable Vibrate on Call Connect and restore this feature. While I do not have the program to check, I believe you can use PocketShield in the same manner to get this feature back.

MY DEVICE SOFT RESETS WHEN I LOCK ON TO A GPS SIGNAL - this happened to me randomly, so I figured I’d write down how I fixed it, in case someone else gets hit with the issue. For me, I needed to flash a different radio…then I was back up and running. You may want to flash back to a Stock Rom and do that whole dance, but my first trouble shooting attempt would be to reflash or change your radio and see if that helps.

I’ve also read HERE of people having issues using 1.12.xx radios with custom ROMs. If you experience strange GPS issues, try changing radios. It’s very easy to do and only takes a few minutes.

[NOTE: #777 is now the default reg setting]
“SUSPENDRESUME” REG EDIT – The “#777” edit may help to resolve any issues you might experience with the Tachi Dialer [usually slide to answer related problems], In Call Power Manager [for example, if your phone won’t wake up after a call], and will allow calls to be answered while a data connectionis active. It’s important to note, the “#777” edit will not shut your data connection off after a specified amount of time. If you go this route, it’s recommended that you set a key [like a long press of the end key] to kill data manually. NOTE: Using Advanced Configuration to disconnect data after a specified amount of time will reset this registry edit to "GPRS...", which is known to cause issues with the Tachi Dialer's ability to answer calls while a data connection is present.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON BATTERY SAVING POTENTIAL: Some users found that turning the data off when it was not “active” didn’t necessarily save them much on battery life and argued that connecting/disconnecting seemed to draw more power than not. Test for yourself. There’s a program cooked in called tBATTERY in START-UTILITIES that will give you some slick info on your battery. Here’s some links to a discussion from the thread [thanks AHUSKINS]:
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread...77#post1158777 and http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread...57#post1158957

This reg edit may help with your dialer issues, but will not auto kill your data connection:

Suspend Resume Reg Edit:
Start>Utilities>Tweaks>Registry Edit >hklm>Comm>ConnMgr>Planner>Settings
-Edit CacheTime to decimal value "60"
(without quotes)
-Edit SuspendResume to "#777"
(without quotes)

BUTTONS ON THE PHYSICAL KEYBOARD DO NOT WORK PROPERLY
[Fn Key and Shift for example]
Users reported that changing the soft keyboard fixed their issues with the physical keyboard keys not functioning well, like trying to type a “?”. Install another version of EZInput to address this.

TXT AND ENVELOPE SHORTCUT BUTTONS DO NOT WORK ON HARDWARE KEYBOARD – you can remap the keyboard keys using RaphKbdControl linked by blockhead: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/attachment...4&d=1255514244
Messaging and Texts can be linked through the /Windows directory. The program will install to the System folder [I think…search for it]. Then follow the onscreen directions to remap.

[rootlinux]: Step by step hardware keyboard fix.

Install RaphKbdControl_CDMA.CAB
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/attachment...4&d=1255514244

It will install into START-SETTINGS-SYSTEM-Keyboard Config.

1. Slide open your keyboard
2.Press MENU-Add key
3. Hit the TXT hard key.
4.Scroll down to the Action field and chose "Run program"
5.Next scroll down to the Program field.
There are 2 options here [typing it in is faster]:
1. You can browse to Windows folder and click SMS.lnk
2. Or, manually type in \Windows\SMS.lnk
Hit OK

Next
Hit Menu/Add key
A box will pop up
Hit the envelope hardkey.
Scroll down to the Action field and chose "Run program"
Next scroll down to the Program field.
Again, two options to do here:
1. Browse to Windows folder and click Messaging.lnk
2. Manually type in \Windows\Messaging.lnk
Hit OK

When you’ve finished assigning buttons, hit Update config

Close the app and test the keyboard.
No need to soft reset.

MY EMAIL INBOX KEEPS RANDOMLY OPENING :
a.open the inbox of one of your accounts.
b.Press the Menu soft key and scroll down to “Tools”
c.Scroll down to “Options”
d.Scroll through the tabs and enable “display account picker when opening messaging”.

MYLOCATION WEATHER WILL NOT AUTO UPDATE
Make sure you have a second city selected in the Weather tab, or MyLocation may not auto update.

NOTIFICATION BUBBLE SHOWS WRONG UNREAD MESSAGE COUNT - This isn't specific to NRG ROM, but something I ran into recently. The issue is that your message notification bubble shows an unread message, but all of your messages are read. Check this to see if it helps:

--Go to the Mail Tab
--Go into the Inbox of one of your accounts
--Along the top bar there is a drop down called "Inbox"...click that to access a list of all of your messaging folders.
--Check each account and folder and clear out any unread messages you see.

What I found was when I stopped using my Outlook Account, it wasn't displayed on the Mail Tab so I couldn't easily access it or see there was an unread message, but it still existed within the device as a default...and in the inbox was an introductory email that the device reported as unread. Using the above method I was able to browse to the Outlook Account and clear the message.

REARRANGE ICONS IN THE START MENU – you can move icons in the START menu simply by tap/holding on them and moving them around. If you don’t like the layout of the START menu, you can also go into \Windows\Start Menu and manually move folders and icons to your liking using Total Commander.

You can also try out reSTART from this thread: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=68864 – this is a more advanced utility that will give you control of the order of items in the Start menu in addition to allowing you to set customized icons. Very cool…super easy to use.

BUTTONS AROUND CENTER BUTTON STAY LIT AFTER SCREEN SHUTS OFF – kind of a random problem, but sometimes the lights for the hard keys will stay lit after the screen times out. To fix this, open your physical keyboard up and close it [this will turn your screen back on], then hit the power button on top of the device to put the device to sleep…all of the lights should shut off.

OPERA CRASHES: you should assign opera cache to Internal Storage, not the Windows Directory.
1.First, you want to clear Opera’s cache, just to ensure it doesn't stay in device memory. Go to Opera Settings-Privacy-Delete cache.
2.Next in the address bar type opera:config – this will open up an options screen
3.Scroll down to user prefs. Under user prefs find cache directory4 and change “/Windows/” to “/Internal Storage/” (don’t change anything else).
4. Scroll all the way to bottom and save. Give it a couple seconds to initiate, then close opera and open it again. Now all cache will be assigned to Internal Storage in the opera9 folder which has just been created. This should speed up Opera and help with crashes. Some users said they moved the opera9 folder to their Storage Card and saw an improvement, so that is an option as well.


ENABLE DATA ROAMING AND OTHER PHONE SETTINGS - [thanks SFHUB] To get more options:
Download this ZIP FILE from SFHUB
Extract the “PhoneSettings” files to the Windows directory, then reboot. If you get an error that you cannot overwrite those files, reboot your device and try copying them over as soon as it boots back up…it should take.

There is also a folder in the zip file with a reg edit that you can import – go into START-TOOLS-TWEAKS-Registry Editor and select the first icon at the bottom of the screen to get to the “Import” option. This reg edit will make the Roaming Option a bit easier to distinguish [“Sprint Only”, “Automatic” default, and “Roam Only”].

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT PRI AND PRL UPDATES - I would HIGHLY recommend users flash to their Stock ROM when updating these settings. It is possible to do it on a custom ROM, but there is a chance that you could screw up your data connection. I always "flashdance" before installing a new custom ROM and use the Stock phase of the process to update my PRL.

UPDATE PRI - http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=77799 - You can check which version you have in START-SETTINGS-SYSTEM-Device Info.
·Install the PPST cab in this thread
·Go into the Windows folder of the device and run PPST.exe
·Select “Yes” [will soft reset when finished]

IMPORTANT NOTES:
1.Running this update changed my custom Start Menu wallpaper to a blue hue [it seems to switch up the Theme]. I was able to restore the default wallpaper on the Start Menu by de-selecting my custom wallpaper as an option. Just a heads up.
2.I updated my PRL [the procedure is below] before running this cab and it seems to have changed my PRL to an older version. Check your device info after installation to make sure everything is good. I simply needed to run the PRL update again after the PPST update.
3.It may take 30s to get a signal after the first boot, but it should normalize afterwards. If you continue to have trouble connecting, follow these steps:
1.Run EPST
2.View info -> M.IP Settings
3.MIP_MODE should be "Mobile IP Only" - change it to "Mobile IP Preferred"
4.OK, OK to restart device
5.run EPST
6.View info -> M.IP Settings
7.MIP_MODE is now "Mobile IP Preferred" - change it back to "Mobile IP Only"
8.OK, OK to restart device. The problem should be solved.

UPDATE PRL – I was curious if I could do this on a custom ROM and found a cab to help. SprintPRLPROFILE.cab puts the PRL update icon back in START-SETTINGS-SYSTEM-Update PRL. I did not need my MSL or anything. I ran the cab to install, selected Update PRL from the file location above and it ran fine. You can check what PRL you’re using in START-SETTINGS-SYSTEM-Device Info. NOTE: they do not go in numerical order, so “60653” isn’t necessarily newer than “60651” [just for example]. You should find out what the most current update number is and go from there to see if you’re current.

MORE ON BACKGROUNDS/WALLPAPERS FOR ALL TABS in 2.1: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=547941 – read through the first page for links to other wall papers and instructions for how to make your own.
Or check out this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=503511
Read the thread for instructions. These recommendations for VGA devices were on pg#55:

NEED FOR SPEED FIX [rootlinx]
Here you go.
I upped this file but it does not include the game.
It is only the files you need to make the game work with Gsen.

DOWNLOAD

I will not supply the game as it is not freeware and only cost 10 bucks.
This will turn the game into a Gsen game.

( By editing the Config.xml you maybe able to turn other games or apps into Gsen games or apps )

Here is the How:
- Install Need for Speed Undercover

To get it working with Gsen:
- Extract everything from the NFSU Gsen.zip
- Install GPad
- copy Config.xml into Gpad folder in program files and delete old config.xml file
- Start Gpad
- Then run NFS

NRG rom plays NFS Undercover perfect in Gsen.
Now some of you guys that shy away from this rom because it doesn't play the game can be happy. IT DOES!

LINKS TO MORE RESOURCES

Murduckys Walk-Through for SASHIMI [HIGHLY RECOMMENDED]: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=75214

Common Touch Pro Reg Edits: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showpost.p...89&postcount=1

Flashing Radios: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=74422

OPTIONAL CABS, FIXES, and VISUAL CUSTOMIZATIONS FOR NRG ROM by rootlinux: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread...47#post1221847

OPTIONAL CABS and FIXES from MAXX134 - http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showpost.p...postcount=5293
Maxx134 keeps a list of cabs and fixes, very similar to what you’ll find here in the Guide, but there may be a few things I didn’t include, so check it out.

MORE OPTIONAL CABS FROM THE THREAD – 3 row start menu, tachi dialer disabler, etc.
These can all be found in the beginning of the NRG ROM thread – post #3: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=69545

FINAL WORDS OF CAUTION

If there is a step in the Guide that you do not understand fully, take some time and do some research on the subject - Google Search or search PPCGEEKS. Chances are, if you're performing a task or running into issues performing a task, someone else has already been down that road. Being prepared for anything that could go wrong, to me, is an important step to take BEFORE performing some action I'm not entirely familiar with. For example, updating your PRI or PRL. You could potentially knock out your data by doing this wrong, forcing you to do a whole dance to restore it. You should really take a minute and do some research into the process before installng whatever cabs you come across. ...especially if you don't know what they do.

I don't necessarily have the time to trouble shoot issues that individual users experience when installing custom ROMs and/or customizing the device to their needs. ...the majority of the time, the issues come down to the user NOT doing any research into their issue, leaving me to Google search the answers for them. Just a heads up, I am least likely to help those who have taken no interest in helping themselves. That sounds so lame, but I get a lot of email like this.

EVERYTHING I POST HERE IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY...THESE ARE NOT INSTRUCTIONS AND I CANNOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR JACKING UP YOUR DEVICE. THE INFORMATION POSTED ARE THINGS THAT I WAS ABLE TO GET WORKING ON MY DEVICE. YOU MUST LEARN TO SEARCH GOOGLE AND PPCGEEKS! THE INFORMATION IS MOST LIKELY OUT THERE.

OTHER CARRIER INFORMATION FOR NRG ROMS

I'm a sprint user and don't have a lot of hands on experience with walk throughs and work arounds for getting certain features rocking for devices on other carriers. So, this new space is for links to resources to help NRG ROM users on carriers other than Sprint.

Here's MURDUCKY's Kill Thread for USCC NRG Users - he's got a ton of other good non-carrier specific info as well, so it's worth a read for everyone. http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=92323

This one for extras

...last one for links.

ok, maybe one more. ...but that's it!