Step by Step tutorial for unlocking your device and cooking your own ROM!!!

[puff]

Originally Posted by Gervy

Here's my next issue....
I'm runing AOK on 3.35 (exe installed on my PC). However when trying to run the 3.42.40 or 3.42.50 radio from my SD card, as soon as I go to enter bootloader mode, I see some sort of instructions flash REALLY fast, and then the normal bootloader screen pops up. What gives?


GErvy

What kind and size of SD Card? and did you format it to FAT32?
I use the 512mb Sandisk that came w/ my phone...

[Gervy]

Originally Posted by puff

What kind and size of SD Card? and did you format it to FAT32?
I use the 512mb Sandisk that came w/ my phone...

Hmmmmm.... 2GB Kingston cheapo.
I would think that it's in FAT32 format but the properties won't show, and strangely enough when I try to format with Resco File Explorer it says the card is locked. I may have to wait until I'm home and can use my all-in-one card reader to screw with it.

Though, it seems the phone sees the card & file, I've not seen those instructions pop-up before. (Not that I can read them now since pop-up is soooo fast, all I can see is "loading...." and then boom... bootloader screen). Erg.

[motheus]

I'm a noob to flashing. I ran olipro and got to the tricolor screen, then disconnected per prompt on the desktop. I then inserted an sd card w/ the 3.42.40 gps radio renamed to titaimg.nbh. No response so I repeated the bootloader process. I now have a grey screen with "Loading..." I have yet to reconnect my xv6800 to the PC. Am I on the right track or do I need to do something else.

Also, I would like to flash to a pre-made ROM before diving into cooking my own in the kitchen, but I'm not quite clear on how to do this - is there a good step-by-step somewhere for flashing to pre-made ROMs once you've unlocked and flashed to a GPS radio, and is there a recommended ROM for the xv6800 vs. the Mogul?

[quadjacks]

Originally Posted by motheus

I'm a noob to flashing. I ran olipro and got to the tricolor screen, ........

The purpose of flashing to a higher number on the OLIPRO is to use the SD method to flash, instead of the USB method. I think your prob, is that you have NOT flashed to the HIGHER number on the OLI yet. You must first flash using USB to the higher number on the OLIPRo, then you may use the SD method to flash from thence forward! Hope this helps!!

[motheus]

Okay, so I worked thru the initial issue. It appears I've flashed the 3.42.40 radio and nueROM-M 201 (keeping it basic, I know). But, as one might guess, I've run into another snag - one I haven't seen repeated yet in this thread or elsewhere: After my call w/ vzw tech supp, I have ingoing/outgoing calls but no internet connection.

Per GaMedic's tutorial, I gave them the whole hard-reset-no-authorization-now-please-ineedanewAkey business, but this guy wanted to try a 1/2 dz. other tricks 1st, which eventually allowed me to make/recieve calls. I kept him on the line while I tested PIE & got the username/password is wrong error msg. We checked my data network connection (using "verizon" and "myphonenumber@vzw3g.com" as usernames and vzw as pw) w/ no success. We also (prior to the preceding steps) changed some values in EPST, which I am attempting to recall now. I have soft-reset throughout this process and am wondering if I need to re-flash the ROM again. At this point vzw's tech supp appears to be out of ideas...can anyone help me out (or point me in the right direction to help myself)?? Thanks!

[GaMedic]

Originally Posted by motheus

Okay, so I worked thru the initial issue. It appears I've flashed the 3.42.40 radio and nueROM-M 201 (keeping it basic, I know). But, as one might guess, I've run into another snag - one I haven't seen repeated yet in this thread or elsewhere: After my call w/ vzw tech supp, I have ingoing/outgoing calls but no internet connection.

Per GaMedic's tutorial, I gave them the whole hard-reset-no-authorization-now-please-ineedanewAkey business, but this guy wanted to try a 1/2 dz. other tricks 1st, which eventually allowed me to make/recieve calls. I kept him on the line while I tested PIE & got the username/password is wrong error msg. We checked my data network connection (using "verizon" and "myphonenumber@vzw3g.com" as usernames and vzw as pw) w/ no success. We also (prior to the preceding steps) changed some values in EPST, which I am attempting to recall now. I have soft-reset throughout this process and am wondering if I need to re-flash the ROM again. At this point vzw's tech supp appears to be out of ideas...can anyone help me out (or point me in the right direction to help myself)?? Thanks!

I have seen this issue before and I am trying to recall the solution for VZW. I know with Alltel you can dial *228 option 3 to fix this issue. You can try it on VZW but I don't think they have option 3. Won't hurt to try. I will post back if I recall the solution. In the meantime a search may net some answers for you. Also you can go to ppckitchen.org and check the support ticket to see if someone else had this problem and found a solution.

[motheus]

Thanks for your reply, quadjacks. I guess I wasn't clear on the exact order of steps between unlocking the phone w/ olipro and flashing the radio ROM via sd card. From where I was in my first post, I soft-reset (by accident) and got back to my starting point. I then started olipro again and went thru w/ no prob. I think I put the sd card in b4 olipro was finished unlocking...

the preceding new issue, enumerated above, still stands, tho'...

Okay, so I worked thru the initial issue. It appears I've flashed the 3.42.40 radio and nueROM-M 201 (keeping it basic, I know). But, as one might guess, I've run into another snag - one I haven't seen repeated yet in this thread or elsewhere: After my call w/ vzw tech supp, I have ingoing/outgoing calls but no internet connection. ...At this point vzw's tech supp appears to be out of ideas...can anyone help me out (or point me in the right direction to help myself)?? Thanks!

[quadjacks]

Originally Posted by motheus

Thanks for your reply, quadjacks.........

In my experience, you must keep calling to get a more knowledgable tech. Sounds stupid however, i always had that issue. One thing i would suggest is to have them strip the device from there servers and re-add it. that seems to be the fix everytime for me, but it sometimes takes me several calls to achieve this result. Hope this helps!!!

[bartmelis]

HELP!!!!! Ok, new xv6800 for Christmas, upgraded from Apache. I unlocked it per GaMedics instructions, seemed to work fine, however, when it would turn off, it would not power back up until I hit soft reset. Then, I decided to go ahead and upgrade the Radio per instructions (used the SD method with both). Seemed to work great, said it completed, did a reset, now it won't come out of the splash screen. It shows that it's upgraded to the 3.42.40 with the Verizon screen and then the red letters disappear and it just stays there. Please, any advice. I've flashed my ROMS many times on the apache and never encountered this issue.

[GaMedic]

The following information is a tutorial on using the kitchen to build you own custom ROM. If you choose to use a pre-made ROM just search around and install them per the instructions on the thread.

1. To begin the kitchen process you need to point your browser to http://www.ppckitchen.org/forums/loc...&catid=4&id=11 to download the installer. Once you have BuildOS.msi downloaded just run the installer. Make sure you install to the default location.

2. After installation you should run the Updater found at Start->Programs->PPCKitchen->Updater. (Screenshots for Updater 1, 2, 3)

When you run the updater it will give you a list of files you can add to your kitchen. You just choose the correct base for your phone whether it is a Titan, Apache, Vogue etc. The next thing to decide is which version you want. (20260, 20270, 5067 etc.) The PPcgeeks_OEM.rar, freeware and the shareware selections all have programs you can select to add to you device. Choose all the files you want added to your kitchen and hit next. The update process takes a while to run; especially the first time you run it. Once you complete this step you will be ready to cook.

3. Go to Start->Programs->PPCKitchen->BuildOS. A sign on screen will open (screenshot). Use your ppcgeeks Screen name and a password that is different from your ppcgeeks password. Make sure you remember the password for future sign ons. The program will open to a selection screen. Select Titan_WM6.1_20270 Selections, Titan_No2Chem_5067_WM6.1 Selections or the selections for whichever base you're using (Screenshot). The kitchen will take a few seconds to load and the basic selections will be made for you.

4. Select you carrier in the carrier dropdown menu located on the top bar. ( Screenshot showing where to select carrier and make other selections)

5. Select the items you would like to place into you ROM, meaning programs, games, etc… that you want on your PPC. You can select a section tab in the left hand pane to go to that particular section or you can start on the right pane making selections and work your way down the screen. Be careful not to select too many programs or you may build a ROM that won't boot up because of size. This is more of a problem on the APACHE. You can start with a few items and then add later to figure out how much you can stuff in. I recommend starting small just to get the feel of the process. If you are not sure what one of the programs is you can select the item and right click with you mouse. Go to visit homepage or OEM info and out will find the program information.

6. Once you have selected all your items click on the green arrow in the top left of the kitchen. This will start the build process. You will see the build process in a separate screen called build status. Don’t open any programs on your PC while this process is working. It will take a couple of minutes. Once the build process is complete you can simply follow the onscreen prompts.

7. The update utility will start. At this point place your phone into boot loader and plug your USB cable to the computer and phone (you can just hook it up and it will force it to bootloader for you once the process starts). You will see a series of screens that will ask you to confirm your selection to flash your ROM (Various screens you may see: 1, 2, 3, 4). Just confirm and allow the flash to begin. Do not unhook you phone during the process. You will see another screen with a progress bar as the ROM is flashed. After the process reaches 100% you will be notified that the process is complete. When it completes, unhook your phone and remove the battery for a minute (only have to remove the battery the first time you flash a custom ROM). Put the battery back in and perform a hard reset. This is done by holding down the 2 soft keys (located above the Send/End keys on the front of your PPC) and pressing the reset at the same time. A grey screen will come up asking to confirm reset by pressing R. Open your keyboard and hit the R key. Then hit the spacebar when it says to do so. Your phone will reboot. You should always perform a hard reset after flashing a ROM. The boot process takes a while after a new ROM flash so be patient. Do your screen alignment and other items as prompted and you are set. At this point you should have your phone upgraded. Before you close the kitchen program you can go to File-> Save As and save the selections you just made so you can add or take away from the ROM you just made. It is easier that starting all over each time.

As you can see the process is pretty easy. You can repeat the same process anytime you want to “tweak” your phone with whatever you want to have on it. I also recommend looking into the OEMizer by tierman so you can save your personal settings and they are cooked into you ROM for you so that you don't have to re-enter it every time you hard reset. This is very handy especially for email settings.


Also you can download OEMs that others have made to use in your kitchen.

If you download an OEM in a zipped format you need to unzip the file. You just take that folder(with the title of your OEM on it) and drop it into the User_OEM folder (located in C:\Program Files\PPCkitchen.org\BuildOS\USER_OEM). That should be all there is to it. The option for that OEM will show up in the kitchen for you to check and add to your ROM.
If you want to build your own OEM look into tiermans OEMizer.

As stated earlier this thread will be updated with any corrections the moderators or senior members point out. Moderators feel free to edit this post as you see fit. This is a very basic tutorial but I hope it helps some of you.


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