Advise for dumb old man

[b0ris84]

you shouldn't have said dumb old man. most middleb aged ppl from my experience have very little technical knowledge you on the other hand have a degree and have worked for ibm. also you got as far as joining an online forum and asking for help, so in my opinion you are ahead of the game

[Journeyjeans]

+1 With B0ris.

[MrObvious]

Originally Posted by b0ris84

you shouldn't have said dumb old man. most middleb aged ppl from my experience have very little technical knowledge you on the other hand have a degree and have worked for ibm. also you got as far as joining an online forum and asking for help, so in my opinion you are ahead of the game

Well said sir!

If you get on IRC we can help too.

[Cork]

Originally Posted by MrObvious

If you get on IRC we can help too.

So I Google'd "IRC" - Something new to learn!

As for the self-deprecation, well, I just wanted to alert people that the thread was for a "newbie", but that term covers too broad a range of folks. I do appreciate the positive comments of course! Honestly, wading through all the information I've read on the two websites these last few weeks has been an interesting and challenging exercise.

A few comments: the various guides are extremely helpful, to the extent that I was able to get everything working by looking for solutions to the problems I encountered in the guides. (Except for one - tried to install DCD's latest, but couldn't find the VZW cab. Turns out I was caught in the site transition and the non-Sprint stuff was not available at the time.) Then I went to the 20273 kitchen and got a working phone in no time. Running through GC's new VZW GPS fix was easy, but the GPS did not work immediately since I had neglected to turn it on in the Radio Settings. (sigh)

Next issue was that my few programs did not show up - and I realized then that I needed to reinstall each one so that Windows could "see" them. I sync with three systems: the corporate Exchange server, my work laptop (Vista), and my home-built XP system. I'm still getting screwy things happening with Active Sync and Sync Center on the two PC's, but the Exchange server link is working perfectly. Fortunately, I put all my data into back-up folders on my home system, so I couldn't lose it. Good move, given the flaky sync software. In the end, the actual Radio and OS ROM updates hardly took any time at all - it was reinstalling programs, restoring settings, dealing with sync issues, and sorting out the GPS that took hours.

To Journey's point, my phone is a mission-critical device for me, and I must admit that it is not as stable now as it was before the upgrade. In my research I recall that HTC Home might have a mem leak, so that may be the source of the problem. After all the effort to get everything working again I was not considering flashing again anytime soon, but now I believe I will act to get a stripped-down ROM and replace HTC Home. Part of the prep will be to collect all my program CABs (eWallet, ListPro, Pocket Quicken, Skyfire, etc.) in one place so it's easy to reinstall all those. Also need to find a disciplined way to get the settings back up. Someone on XDA mentioned OEMizer as a means of keeping the settings, so I have bookmarked a thread on it so I can begin learning how to use that tool.

Because of the generous contributions of the folks here, I have a list of interfaces I need to explore as well, from Ifonz and MusicFlo to SPB's Mobile Shell and Pocket Plus with stops at Ultimate Launcher and Point UI in between.

I'm intrigued by nueROM 3, but I need to wait for a bit more stability before trying it. And, of course, I need to learn about the no2chem's many nueTools so I can understand why I would need them and how I would use them. Gee, think I have enough to do here?

[MrObvious]

To add to stability I have found that the less, the better with Kitchen. The more crap you load up may not be necessarily stable. So far I am running my 20273 pretty lean and it is running great. I haven't had any stability issues to speak of. But I made sure to put in the nueTools.

I hate the idea of having to hard reset all the time but after a while you get used to just backing things up and then restoring them. A good program I found is called PimPPCBackup and it is amazing for backing up contacts, messages, and other things. I don't think I could live without it.

[gguruusa]

Originally Posted by rhannahs19

i personally love no2chems roms because then are clean and very streamlined.. he just put out a new on (you have to donate to access it) that boots with over 30 mbs of ram, which is outstanding.

It's also missing the camera, so, um, it's not for everyone.

[gguruusa]

Originally Posted by blksprk

My personal preference is not to use kitchens, let me explain (you may already know it, but its worth explaining in case you dont):

when you build something into a rom using a kitchen, its there till you flash over it

Yes. And if you don't cook it into the rom, you have to load it by .cab. The only difference is how you handle upgrades, which if you're upgrading your rom all the time, isn't an issue either. The real advantage to using the kitchen is that you don't have to do all that configuration crap after your .cabs load all the time.

[gguruusa]

Originally Posted by Cork

So I Google'd "IRC" - Something new to learn!

click the chat button at the top of the page

In the end, the actual Radio and OS ROM updates hardly took any time at all - it was reinstalling programs, restoring settings, dealing with sync issues, and sorting out the GPS that took hours.

The gps stuff is in the next kitchen, but reinstalling programs is a pure nightmare. Once you learn how to make a custom oem, even that isn't so bad.

To Journey's point, my phone is a mission-critical device for me, and I must admit that it is not as stable now as it was before the upgrade. In my research I recall that HTC Home might have a mem leak, so that may be the source of the problem.

No leak, it's just a pig. Titan is short on memory, and you're going to have trouble using all the apps you list without reseting regularly. Maybe a good x-button type app will help (avoid htc x-close!)

After all the effort to get everything working again I was not considering flashing again anytime soon, but now I believe I will act to get a stripped-down ROM and replace HTC Home. Part of the prep will be to collect all my program CABs (eWallet, ListPro, Pocket Quicken, Skyfire, etc.) in one place so it's easy to reinstall all those.

Put them on your SD card or extended rom partition, which won't erase on a custom rom flash, and learn how to install them using one of the several autoInstallers (UC, tierAutoinstall, etc)

Also need to find a disciplined way to get the settings back up. Someone on XDA mentioned OEMizer as a means of keeping the settings, so I have bookmarked a thread on it so I can begin learning how to use that tool.

It's in the kitchen. Nothing to it really...the work is in determining what you need.

Because of the generous contributions of the folks here, I have a list of interfaces I need to explore as well, from Ifonz and MusicFlo to SPB's Mobile Shell and Pocket Plus with stops at Ultimate Launcher and Point UI in between.

Again, don't forget about the limited RAM problem. Mobile shell and pocket plus will eat into it substantially.

I'm intrigued by nueROM 3, but I need to wait for a bit more stability before trying it.

The good news is, if you can deal with not having a camera, you get a ton more memory...which will help with that stability thing termendously.

And, of course, I need to learn about the no2chem's many nueTools so I can understand why I would need them and how I would use them. Gee, think I have enough to do here?

[gguruusa]

Originally Posted by MrObvious

To add to stability I have found that the less, the better with Kitchen. The more crap you load up may not be necessarily stable.

True, unless you have a good idea as to how the apps work and interact. More does not necessarily imply problems, but it does if you click indiscriminately.

BTW, someone suggested a clean rom with .cabs added after is more stable. That's crap. It's the same stable.

[firegeek]

First off welcome, I know that's been covered buy this is a fantastic place.

Have you tried Nexvision's roms? they are amazing. I too demand stability. and have yet to be disappointed. they are preconfigured with ultimate launch in a very finger friendly manner. Plus enough usable programs to keep you happy. enjoy!

E.