Complete explanation on official/custom ROMs and how to do it.

[GhettoBSD]

Created: 4/27/2008
Modified: 9/6/2008
Updated: General walk through, added sections

1) Intro & basic Operations
2) Upgrading
3) Tools/warez
4) Downgrading
5) Thanks and misc


1) Intro & Basic Operations

I decided to make a post for people that will hopefully clear up some confusion about soft/hard resetting, updating, changing and creating ROMs for the PPC 6800.

If you care, you could say I'm pretty good on electronic devices, especially computers. I like customizing what I work with, thus why I love BSD (and linux too!). Although I have some experience at modifying things, all this phone stuff was a little confusing to me. I read, read some more and then read some more. And still I was confused. So, hopefully my howto version will clear things up for others like myself.

My equipment.

#1) Phone: HTC Mogul AKA PPC 6800, TITAN
#2) Carrier: Sprint

For those who are completely new to this sort of thing, a soft reset is when you basically reboot the phone. No programs, contacts or other saved information is lost. If you have notepad open with notes and you reboot without saving the file, the information will be lost.

To soft reset use the stylus to push the little button on the left side of the USB port on the bottom of the phone.

A hard reset is like formating, all information in the system memory will be lost. Contacts, calendar events and everything else not saved to a memory card or backed up on a computer will be lost. This is good when you are having problems and soft resets do not work.

To hard reset use the stylus to push the little button on the left side of the USB port on the bottom of the phone and hold both the left and right 'soft keys' at the same time. A screen will show up (don't let go of those 2 softkeys!) and will ask if you want to hard reset. Press the key that has the option you want (yes or no). Once it's done you will press the space bar.

2) Upgrading

I got my phone in September 2007. It had the original non-GPS rom. Around ~ March/April I decided to update the rom to the GPS enabled ROM.

To upgrade to an official ROM, all I did was download RUU_TITAN_SPRINT_WWE_3.35.651.2_RS_TITAN_3.35.04_4 350H_SPCS_AM_Ship.exe from http://www.htc.com/us/FAQ_Detail.aspx?p_id=75&act=sd The URL could have changed since time of writing. Just go to the mogul area on their site and click on downloads. Please take note that my stock ROM was non-GPS enabled. I upgraded to the official GPS enabled ROM.

Once the file was downloaded (about 64MB in size) I just ran the file. It's pretty self explanatory.

#0) Battery has to be at least 50% charged.
#1) Run RUU_TITAN_SPRINT_WWE_3.35.651.2_RS_TITAN_3.35.04_4 350H_SPCS_AM_Ship.exe
#2) Connect phone through USB to PC.
#3) Follow Directions

Bonus Tip: If you want to run the official ROM but don't want to run the "sprint" features (because they take up memory and slow the system a little) you can avoid having them installed. After you skip or set the password, you'll have about 3 seconds to soft reset the phone before it runs the "customization."

Phone will then be upgraded to 'most current official ROM.' That's pretty simple. As long as your PC doesn't crash, reboot or get unplugged everything should be fine.

If you're wanting to perform a custom ROM upgrade, then it's a little more tricky. There are a few steps for flashing "custom non-official ROMs."
#1) Run an unlocker.
#2) Select ROM to flash
#3) Depending on ROM package, you might need a RUU.

In this example I am running:
Official ROM version: 3.35.651.2
Official Radio version:3.35.04

Before I can install any custom ROM, I need to unlock the phone.
You can go to: http://www.nuerom.com/BlogEngine/pag...HTC-Titan.aspx and download nueSPL. You can follow the easy to read/undertand instructions to unlock your phone.

***START OLD INSTRUCTIONS***
I did this by running Hard-SPL-MFG.exe. You can read about it here: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=9093 and you can download it here: ftp://up.ppcgeeks.com/Titan/Users/Im...rd-SPL-MFG.exe
***END OLD INSTRUCTIONS***

With my official ROM, I plug the phone into my PC. I have MS activesync running. You can get MS AS here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...DisplayLang=en If the link doesn't work just search for activesync on www.microsoft.com

***OLD INSTRUCTIONS***
I run Hard-SPL-MFG.exe. It extracts itself and shows a window with instructions. I read EVERYTHING it says. A "PDA Phone ROM Update Utility 3.16.4.2" comes up. I follow directions and click where I have to. Eventually it says "Finish." Click that and that part is done.

I enter ctrl-c after reading what else the window says and enter y.
***END OLD INSTRUCTIONS***

Tip: Sometimes you have to remove the battery for 5 seconds before your phone will boot. I did this after I flashed the ROM.

Next I select what I want to run. I want to run "nueROM v2.1 build 5062" or "Nex_3.35_no2_SPCS_SPB_FIXED2.exe." The difference between these 2 files is the way the flashing is done. (You flash the ROM.) The nueROM comes in a file named "RUU_signed.nbh." That's pretty standard for most custom ROMs. The Nex...exe file is ready to go as is. When you come acrossROMs in .nbh files, you need to flash that with a RUU (Rom Update Utility). Otherwise they could have their own installer.

To flash .nbh ROMs

#0) Download a RUU. You can download it here ftp://up.ppcgeeks.com/Titan/Users/Im...N/roms/RUU.rar Uncompress and open the folder. You'll see a bunch of files.
#1) Copy/Paste the .nbh file (RUU_signed.nbh) and put it in the RUU folder where you see all the files.
#2) Run ROMUpdateUtility.exe and it'll walk you through the rest.
#3) BE PATIENT! This takes a little while. For my it takes ~ 5 minutes. It could take you more or less!

Once you click "Finish" the phone should reboot and load the new custom rom! It might ask you if you would like some additional options, you'll have to read up on that about each particular distribution of custom ROMs.

Tip: You might have to remove your battery if this is the first custom ROM you flash.
This has to do with the unlocker/unlocking process.

To flash Nex_3.35_no2_SPCS_SPB_FIXED2.exe, just run the file. It will walk you through all the steps necessary.

It's really simple once you get over the initial concern of messing with your device. Soon you'll be a pro and cooking your own ROMs in a kitchen!

3) Tools/Warez

To make your own custom ROM, you need to use a kitchen. You can get the kitchen here: http://ppckitchen.org The kitchen basically comes with templates and software for your phone. You pick and choose what you like/want and create the custom ROM. It then flashes your phone to have the selections you wanted and off you go. It's very simple. To use the PPC Kitchen you must be registered through their website. You need to download their BuildOS.msi and then run that. It will then download the different components you select. Chose what you think you need. After that, you can run the program and create your own custom ROM!

There is a walk through for the no2chem kitchen/ROM in PDF format with screen shots at the bottom of this post. Thanks to Nickles for that.

Links:
Official Rom: http://www.htc.com http://www.htc.com/us/supportdownloa..._id=75&cat=all
MS ActiveSync: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...DisplayLang=en
No2Chem software, locker/unlocker and ROMs: http://www.nuerom.com (on the right side there is a menu for items).
RUU (ROM Update Utility): ftp://up.ppcgeeks.com/Titan/Users/Im...N/roms/RUU.rar
PPC Kitchen: http://ppckitchen.org
Customizter: http://www.tiermann.net/index.php?op...0Apps&Itemid=2 (for installing cabs)
*** Depreciated OliPro Unlocker: Info here http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=9093 and you can download it here: ftp://up.ppcgeeks.com/Titan/Users/Im...rd-SPL-MFG.exe ***
XDA Titan Wiki for customizing (roms) and walkthroughs: http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index...name=HTC_Titan

Forums about PPC's and the things they do:
http://ppcgeeks.com
http://forum.xda-developers.com
Additional info - worth reading: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=17667

Additional info about different 'themes.'
"The new ROM's have three basic today themes. SPB (http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com), Ultimate Launcher (UL http://www.ultimatelaunch.de/) , and HTC Home (http://www.pocketemu.com/news.html). Thanks to Detwilers for the info.

4) Downgrading

So why would you want to make your phone stock if you're running some awesome custom ROMs??? If you were to submit your phone for insurance replacement or take it into a store for repairs, you can not take it in unlocked with custom ROMs. The reason is that you would "void your warrenty and/or coverage." So you want it to go back to stock and play dumb.

You want to run the "nueSPL ReLocker." It can be found here http://www.nuerom.com/BlogEngine/pag...HTC-Titan.aspx You put that on your storage card and run it from the phone.

Tip: Your storage card has to be FAT32 in order for these to work. If you have to format your card to FAT32 MAKE SURE YOU BACKUP ALL FILES ON THE STORAGE CARD ON YOUR PC FIRST! THEY WILL ALL BE LOST DURING A FORMAT!

When you run nueSPL ReLocker, instructions come up on screen. Just follow them and your device will be re-locked.

Tip: You might have to pull out your battery for a little while before rebooting.

Once your phone has booted up you need to find out which radio version you have. You can find this information under "settings" and then "device information." I am running radio version 3.35.04. That means I have to find a stock sprint rom that has radio 3.35.04. I also have GPS enabled so in order to ensure compatibility, I will look for a GPS rom that also has GPS enabled.

Tip: For reasons I don't understand, you can not mix and match ROMs that have and don't have GPS with different radios. So that is why you must be sure what radio version you have, if you have GPS and then get the corresponding stock OEM ROM.

Find and download the appropriate rom. Run the file. It'll look like the RUU you've used before. Follow all onscreen directions. For my phone and setup I got the file from http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index...TitanStockHome

When completed you should now be back to a stock OEM ROM with a locked boot loader.

5) Thanks and Misc

Thanks for everyones previous efforts on explaining the subject. Thanks to all the forums out there dedicated to these devices. Thanks to all the software developers and 'hackers' who are helping us make these devices more useful.

If there are errors please feel free to point them out and i'll update it.

Big thanks to Olipro, no2chem, NexVision and ImCokeMan! There are so many more out there it would take forever to list them all.

Please remember that everyone here donates their time and hard work to make these things happen. If you like their work and have some extra cash, please donate to help the cause and continue researching our devices.

Feel free to PM me for updating links in post.

#1 FAQ: "I am stuck in a tri-color screen/boot loader." Pull the battery out for a few seconds and then start the device again!

*Added "No2Chem Kitchen flash.pdf" submitted by Nickles - Thanks!
*Updated some links for HTC and MS AS, added menu and downgrading, general walk through update