Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

There are two places. The one is set in a file mxipupdate_zzPIED_100.provxml (search the ..\kitchen\OEM directory), shows up in the startmenu-settings-system-deviceinformation.. And when you flash, it's in the ..\kitchen\tools directory. I don't remember the name, but it's one of the few text (vogueimg.txt???) files in there. That's all from memory so I'm not 100% sure on the names...

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

I see in the stock VZW ROM that there are inclusions like Cyberon Voice. How can I delete these things I dont want in the ROM? Its not like they had folders created.

Steve

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

An easy way? The way to cheat is copy the cyberianvoice OEM from PPCKitchen_OEM.rar into the ..\kitchen\OEM folder, build your rom deleting the dup's out of OEMAPPS, then delete the cyberian voice OEM...

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

Any reason why BuildOS should be blowing up now? I was able to build a couple of ROMs, but now it just errors out.

Steve

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

When you first open it, you'll get an error for an improperly formated option.xml. And when building if you have an OEM inside an OEM are the two that I run across on occassion.

Here is the buildos support thread....
New BuildOS - Report Bugs Here
...and...

New Issue
 

Ok so how do you deal with two OEMs that you are trying to add and each OEM has a file that is named identically. Do you rename one?

Steve

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

Delete one of them. Usually you would delete the one out of OEMAPPS, since the OEM's usually have the newer version...

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

But what if its two entirely different apps? In my case Resco 2008 and Task Manager use a file called Settings.png. They are both different images.

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

Then you have to rename the file to say 001-settings.png and also you'll need to manipulate the file inside the initflashfiles.txt to move it where it needs to be. I think in my rom tutorial's, the one on adding personal files and other stuff, I've got a sniplet on the initflashfiles.txt and how to use it....

More Questions - Hope You Have Answers
 

I will say this over and over again as I embark on this ROM journey....thanks very much for being so open with the information you have provided and will provide. Alot of people wouldnt be so accomodating but I sincerely appreciate it all!

Now onto the questions. I took a step back in my quest for a Steve ROM using the leaked VZW ROM as my base. I noticed that alot of my OEMS just dumped right into the \Windows directory, and I want to have a much cleaner ROM than that. So I have gone back to the beginning and will be taking one OEM at a time and determining where it should be installed to, and then making the corresponding changes to reg and all. This is going to be a long process I know, but in the end the clutter in the \Windows directory will be minimized.

So on that note have you had a reason to want to copy the entire directory structure off of a device to your PC, and if so what tool have you used to do this. I hate having to browse through the device directory on the device. I have much better tools on my PC to do this and would rather dump it there for any manipulation.

Second I noticed a directory in the OEM directory of my VZW dump. Its called OEM_Lang_0409. I have come across several OEMs, like VC, which have OEMS that fit into this category. Would it be safe to say that anything like this should be in this directory rather than outside of it?

Onward and upward...thanks!

Steve

Re: More Questions - Hope You Have Answers
 

I'll try to answer within reason what I can. :) And appreciate the feedback!

The only way to eliminate the \windows clutter is to not cook so much "stuff" into the rom and use an alternative like UserCustomization to do post-flash .cab installs.

Currently for most devices that I am aware of, this is the delivery method of WindowsMobile 5, 6, and 6.1. EVERYTHING you cook into your rom, get's dumped into \windows. Did I say EVERYTHING? \Windows is the starting point, then winmo copies stuff to where it is supposed to be using the initflashfiles.dat file and more recently people are using mxip provisinioning files to do some minor re-arranging of the files.

So, to eliminate clutter, Think Clean Rom....

And you should only add OEM's to the ..\Kitchen\OEM directory. This is where most of the "carrier stuff" resides.

Re: More Questions - Hope You Have Answers
 

So your statement about "Think Clean ROM" begs the question...what do you consider to be a clean ROM. What components are in and what are out? For example do you consider Office Mobile part of a clean ROM, or outside of its scope?

Steve

Re: More Questions - Hope You Have Answers
 

Everyone has a different definition of a clean rom. I would include office in my clean rom. Those files, or program files run out of windows. That is the approach ppckitchen takes, they try to run everything out of windows so there aren't two copies of the programs of the device to save space. My approach is to install it as a .cab install.

Re: More Questions - Hope You Have Answers
 

Its funny you say that because this seems to be the great philosophical debate. I personally have gone back and forth. I start with a 6700, so I had to make sure I conserved precious ROM space. With the 6800 came some more room to cook more, and now with the 6900 even more room. I like the cab approach because it gives you the flexibility to be nimble when upgrades come out.

Steve

Re: More Questions - Hope You Have Answers
 

very much so !!!

keep in mind that its just more n00b-friendly to put everything into the windows folder,
also check out Customize your StartMenu for PPCKitchen.org's - BuildOS - Tutorial
And for you diamond users: Templates: Custom Start Menu's for your ROM - 9/29/08

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

........

But just copying around start menu entries doesn't take up much space....1k at the most...But say cooking opera into a rom and copying it to a destination directory while taking up \windows space is...hopefully you have a device with a little bit of memory...

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

So lets say you wanted to move opera (not just the start menu shortcut) to \Opera

First you would obviously create the directory, but then can you move (rather than just copy) using the initflashfiles ?

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

initflashfiles can only copy files, you'd use provxml to copy, then delete the entry. I'm not sure about deleting a file cooked into the rom, but both initflashfiles and provxml will overwrite a file cooked into rom. That's how I do my startup screens in my rom. But you can't overwrite a file in use by the OS already, like once I tried to do no2chems battery.dll like that but since the .dll was already in use it wouldn't overwrite it.

Back to opera, that's what I call an intense app. You'd have to change all the registry entries and file/data locations as well...

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

Updated Kitchens so that other devices can now benefit from this tutorial:

Titan Kitchen: DogGuy Kitchen Beta4.rar
Vogue Kitchen: Vogue_Kitchen_tools.rar
Diamond Kitchen: DIAM_blank_kitchen.rar
Raphael Kitchen: RAPH_blank_kitchen.rar

New Issue
 

What does the attached screenshot mean when I am running BuildOS? Does it mean that I have a GUID that is duplicated?

Steve

Re: New Issue
 

That's a formatting error in one of your RGU files and one of your registry entries. If you look in ..\kitchen\temp\log.txt, at the bottom of this log file it will tell you the OEM and the line # that is giving you the error. It's not always exact with the line #, but within 5 lines usually


Any problems post the RGU contents here and we can help find the error.

Also check out Tutorial: Adding Registry Entries to your Rom (RGU Method) for a few formatting tips.

Re: New Issue
 

Aha...thanks!

Advance Question
 

Ok while I am not there yet I know I will want to do this at some point.

Clearly the VZW leaked ROM is built on a lower version than what is out in the PPC Kitchen(20931). How do you inject new OS updates into a kitchen, so you gain the benefits of the updated code, along with keeping the stock look and feel? Is there a tutorial on this?

Steve

Re: Advance Question
 

Yes it was built with the stock rom. I am not one that jumps on the bandwagon of gotta have the latest SYS version in my rom. There is a tutorial over at xda on "porting a sys". I personally have no desire to learn as I will stick with the sys that was tested on my device.

Re: Advance Question
 

So basically each new version that comes out is essentially a new SYS correct?

And if you had your druthers which SYS have you found the most stable?

Steve

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

Yep, and I am quite happy with what came with the phone.

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

Ok not a new problem per say but I am hoping you can assist.

I took the 20931 kitchen, created a ROM, and then de-compiled it. When I try to flash it after I use the build tools my 6900 gets stuck at the splash screen. Any ideas on why that is happening?

Steve

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

Never figured that one out, but any rom built with ppckitchen can be decompiled, but cannot be re-flashed. It will get "stuck"....

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

So weird...I am going to post in the kitchen thread and see what they have to say.

Steve

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

It can be rebuilt, you just need to use a buildos that doesn't have some of the bugs that Bepe's has. Of course, doing what spetrillo is doing (decompiling a rom he himself made) is complete b00nism.

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

wow... this is very informative and helpful... and a great tutorial, on just getting familiar w/ the kitchens, ive been interested in building roms myself down the line, and while I fully understand that is not what this tutorial is about, its a great starting lace for me to get familiar, and start customizing my own roms etc... and maybe even do a lil experimenting... and from here... ill just keep learning! Thanks a lot rstoyguy

Re: Advance Question
 

There are 3 parts o each new build: XIP, SYS, drivers.

Obviously, drivers are hardware specific, and they don't port well. XIP and SYS, are for the most part portable. New builds consist of some vintage of drivers combined with an updated xip and sys. Porting a SYS is trivial, porting a XIP a little less so.

As a general statement, test builds are slightly unstable and shipped builds are all of roughly the same stability. Except for apache and titan, which have horrible stock roms, stock and shipped builds have comparable stability.

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

I accidentally found this thread while searching for something else. If it weren't for this tutorial I would have never had the guts for this. I tried to use the kitchen in the Diamond thread and found it VERY intimidating.

This tutorial shoud be stickied in all of the upgrade forums that it pertains to because it really would help a lot of the new people and the chickens like me.

Thanks so much! I had to flash my phone 5 times to get it right, but I learned so much. I can't say thank you enough!=D>

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

I thought I was clinging to the "old tools".. :) I have thought about updating this and re-writing it and posting in the diamond upgrade forum. But I too found the kitchens there might be a little difficult to understand by new users. I'm still learning all the ins and outs of the diamond, but I may just rewrite this tutorial and add in a couple of new topics. We'll see what happens...

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

Mine will not recreate those folders and i dont understand using JD rom

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

You are!

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

Which kitchen? What'd you find intimidating?
You found reversing a rom to a generate a batch file kitchen that you then had to add OEMs to easier than just starting with a kitchen? Sounds like trying to cross the street via the subway.

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

no one have any ideas why OEM and SYS directories dont come back up when i run prepit

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

What rom are you working with and which kitchen? And what size is the rom you are working with?

Re: How to Customize a Custom Rom: Adding/Removing Programs
 

JD rom and im using the black raphael kitchen included at the begining of the post