How big is too big for a ROM? Mine does not work
 

I VERY new to building ROMs and I do not know how big is to big for a cooked ROM or how to keep from getting duplicate programs on the ROM.:scratch:
My 1st one was far from successful, and I need some expert advice.
Now that I have cooked the ROM and installed it I have some questions,

I am cooking for a Sprint Mogul 6800 I have already unlocked the phone, current ROM ver 3.57, Radio ver 3.42.xx

1: how do I know how many (Module) items I can select to be added to the ROM? For a Sprint PPC 6800 and keep the phone stable and fast? (see attachment of what I selected, and please comment) :???:

2: of the OEMs I loaded quite a few of them are trial versions, items you have to buy, items that have already expired there trial period, or duplicated items. when I made my selections I made sure I did not select any that had a 'Trial' in the License. I am not looking for anything to buy, en order to get the full features/ability that this phone can offer

3: some of the (Module) items have round radio buttons and others have check boxes, what is the difference and why can you only select 1 radio button and multiple check boxes?

4: I have read setting the pool affects the performance of the phone, what is the best pool setting? I know that 6 is default but I have read it being set as high as 16 and as low as 2

Attached is what I did for my ROM not knowing what I am/was doing, please comment and what I need to do for better understanding and how to create a better ROM


Thanks

Re: How big is too big?
 

Meanfishy,

I am just a beginning cook as well (Currently working on my ROM, up to try #4...) but I'll try and answer some of your questions as best I can.

1) While I know that the Apache (6700) had a limit on ROM size - It would fail to boot with ROMs that were too large - I know of no such limit with the Titan. Obviously, the more you add, the less storage space you will have, and the more stuff that runs in the background (Today screen plugins, IM programs, etc..) the slower the phone will be. I think that it comes down to "What is acceptable for your personal tastes?".

2) I've run into the same issue. Magicall, for one. It's not listed as a trial, and yet, when you load it, it is. Also, watch out for PIEPlus. It's listed as shareware, but is cracked software. (I purchased a key for it, and was unable to use my key since the software had been partially rewritten to accommodate the crack.) What can you do to avoid it? For me, I have found that keeping a build log in the folder where I store my ROMs and the selection files that made them helps. After I cook and install a ROM, I go through it and note any problems, and try to correct them in the next build.

3) The radio buttons are there to show that you can only select one option from many. For instance choosing more than one skin for FTouchFlo would cause erratic behavior and possibly a crash, therefore you are limited to a single choice. The checkboxes are there to show that you can choose as many as you want.

4) From what I have seen, this is a question of great debate. First, I can tell you that "no2chem", a noted ROM cook, has stated that he used to use a 4 MB pagepool in his ROMs, but found a value of 6 MB to yield better performance. Second, a warning. Setting it to 0 will not disable it as you might think - It will instead tell the ROM to use whatever its default is, usually from 4 to 6 MB. Also, setting it too low may or may not cause some software on your phone to malfunction. You'll have to test each program out to figure it out. Lastly, whatever you assign as the pagepool is RAM that you lose the use of for programs. Since the 6800 is already RAM starved, be careful.

If this post helped you, don't forget to click the green 'Thanks' button.

Good luck in your cooking!

Re: How big is too big?
 

Thanks for the input, I have another question to ask;

When I start the build ROM process (click the green play button) and the builder Status window open I get messages asking me if I want to over-write and exciting file with the new file; what does this mean & what should I do?

Re: How big is too big?
 

Meanfishy,

I haven't figured out exactly what is being overwritten with what* (The messages are so long they get cut off at the right side of the window, even with it maximized) BUT - I have noticed that clicking "Yes" results in no ill effects, at least on my builds. I haven't tried clicking "No" yet.

* - I'm guessing that the kitchen is finding some components of your ROM in multiple packages - Example - You opt for the WM 6.1 Green Theme in your ROM, and when you build it, it finds the theme in package #1 and adds it. As it is processing the other stuff you asked for and sorting through packages 2, 3, 4, etc... it again finds your requested theme files, thus prompting you whether or not to overwrite them. As far as I know, there is no way to know if the files are exact matches beyond their names without opening up the corresponding RAR files, extracting the files in question to a temporary folder, and comparing details. It would be much easier if the dialog box with the overwrite question also showed the details of each file, as Windows does when you are copying files and attempt to copy a file with the same name over an existing one.

It seems to me that cooking ROMs is somewhat of an art. After all, we are creating custom versions of closed-source software, and since that isn't exactly encouraged, the tools and documentation are less than widely available. It would be nice though if the kitchen were to eventually be rewritten with a much more user-friendly style.

I hope that I answered your question. If you have any more kitchen questions, ask, and if I know the answer (or where to get it), I'll be glad to help!

Re: How big is too big?
 

My overwrite messages are not going off screen, so I have attached a screen shot to make sure we are discussing the same thing. I am getting a dozen + of these messages when building a ROM

1: After further research it appears that each ROM comes with certain OEMs already installed, is there a way to know what they are so I do not duplicate the OEMs?

2: When selecting OEMs is there are general rule that you only select 1 OEM per section? I know that supposedly the 6800 can not be "overloaded" with the size of the ROM but mine is EXTREMELY SLOW both on a soft reset in how long it takes the phone to become operational again and when working with programs within the phone. More so on both accounts then what the phone was with the Preintalled Sprint ROM.

3: I know they are here but after doing several searches I am not getting what I am looking for, which is a precooked ROM speficily for a sprint 6800 so I can;1 load to my phone to get it working 2 see what others are doing to get an idea of what is/isn't working for a cooked ROM

Thanks

Re: How big is too big?
 

Damn, this is so not what I thought the thread was about... :-P

Re: How big is too big?
 

Meanfishy,

As for your overwrite messages (and possibly mine as well..), from your screenshot I'd say that the ROM includes certain baseline files - Such as welcomehead.96.png, which if I'm not mistaken is a splash screen you chose in a drop-down menu to see while your ROM is booting - Is being overwritten by your other choices later in the build, such as your choice of "Colonel's Custom Theme". I'm betting that the other overwrite errors are for the same reason. To test this theory, you can build a ROM and answer "No" to the overwrite prompt. If I'm right, the splash screen will be whatever you chose in the drop-down menu, and not the Colonel's Custom Theme.

It still seems to me that your best bet is to answer "Yes" to the overwrite prompt, although I too wish there was a bit more guidance for when to answer yes or no.

1) I don't think it matters, as the kitchen is 'smart' enough to not let you select incompatible packages, and it automatically adds required packages. They are greyed out/yellow in the list. However, you can test it by loading the original "Titan_WM6.1_20748 Selections.txt" (At least, that's where I started..) and without making any changes, build the ROM. This will produce an extremely stock/clean ROM, but I don't think there will be anything in it. No dialer, no comm manager, no camera, etc...

2) I have never run into that 'rule'. However, let me quote a section from the "tips.txt" file in the PPCkitchen folder on my HD...

"There is not currently any way to tell how much space you are using while selecting OEMs. However, BuildOS should present you with one or more signs that you have selected to many OEMs once you start the build process. If this has happened, you will see "out of memory" or "failed" messages in the status window, and a dialog box saying "Error making file system". If you see those error messages, unselect some things and try to build again. Even if you do build and flash an overfull ROM (main symptom being a completely white screen during and after boot) then simply build a new ROM with less items selected and re-flash with phone in bootloader mode."

3) I generally don't use precooked ROMs, but they are available in this forum. Look under "HTC Titan Upgrades". Here is an example thread, which should link to the ROM:

General - nueROM 2.2 Bleeding Edge General Discussion Thread

The nueROM line is cooked by no2chem, and he is recognized as one of the most "push the limit" type chefs around here, having coded several tools that make our phones do amazing things.

Also, I'm curious - How are you flashing your cooked ROMs to the phone? I'm not sure if the procedure you use can affect the speed, but here is what I do - It assures the most error-free flash possible as far as I know.

A) Copy nueSPL v2.47 to phone storage and run with a non-SDHC microSD card inserted. Allow it to format the card, and complete the update to your bootloader.

This allows you to flash ROMs from your microSD card, which is a faster and less error-prone way to flash than a USB cable.

B) Rename the ROM image (Found in "C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Application Data\hIq Inc\PPC-BuildOS\9.05.2.7Temp") from "RUU_signed.nbh" to "TITAIMG.nbh" and place it in the root/top folder of your microSD card.

C) Hold down the power & camera buttons on the phone and press the reset button with your stylus. The phone should boot to a multi-colored screen which should then quickly change to a gray screen with "Checking" and "Loading" on it. You'll then be prompted to press the power button to start the update. Do not hold it down, just tap it once. You'll get a progress bar while the ROM is loaded, and when it is done it will say "Update Success".

D) At that point, I remove the battery for about 30 seconds, and put it back in. (You cannot power off from that screen.) Removing the battery at this point also helps because some ROMs do some strange(ish) partitioning to your phone's storage space, and pulling the battery lets the phone drop the old data and read the new data.

E) Hold down both soft keys and turn the phone on. You should be greeted with a grey screen with blue text asking if you want to do a hard reset. If not, then turn the phone on normally, and while it is booting, press the reset button with your stylus (while holding down both soft keys) and it should ask you if you want to do a hard reset. Go ahead with the hard reset.

The initial boot after a hard reset is quite long. Subsequent soft resets are much faster.

Hope this post helped - If so, don't forget the 'Thanks' button!

Re: How big is too big?
 

Subhumanderelict,

Heh. To answer your question, I'd say that anything over 12 inches is really pushing the limit.. LOL

Re: How big is too big?
 

Yeah I guess that was a little bit misleading :mrgreen:

Re: How big is too big?
 

I have already unlocked the phone per the instructions by GaMedic, and using nueSPL v2.47

I have been using the USB cable as the means for flashing will try the SD card method

I was wondering why certain OEMs changed colors, I knew that the gray one were one that were incomparable with my other selections but I did not know that the yellow one were also conflicting/duplicate indicators


BIG thanks for this!!!!!!!!

Re: How big is too big?
 

You, ma'am (or sir), deserve a medal if that's your limit!

Re: How big is too big?
 

The yellow highlights on certain packages DOES NOT mean it is a conflicting/duplicate package - It means that whatever is highlighted in yellow is required by a previous package. For example, the TrackMe package requires Sqlcemobile or .NetCF 2.0. (I forget which..)

Packages highlighted in yellow will be added whether you put a checkmark by them or not. The only way to prevent their inclusion is to uncheck the package(s) that require them.

As for the thanks, no problem. I may not have all the answers (My build log is full of errors I can't quite seem to resolve yet, mostly duplicate control panels ATM..) but I'm glad to share whatever knowledge I do have.

Re: How big is too big for a ROM? Mine does not work
 

the SD flash is much more stable and seems to get better response from the phone, ( used the same exact ROM both on teh USB and the SD, so there would be only 1 variable)

Re: How big is too big for a ROM? Mine does not work
 

Meanfishy,

Has it helped any of your speed issues? Have you noticed less errors?

Re: How big is too big for a ROM? Mine does not work
 

Yes to both accounts, I am currently coking my 5th ROM on a trial and error method; here are the points of interest that I have come across so far with add as more knowledge is gained.

1: the SD method of flashing the ROM onto the phone but also seems to enable to phone to be more stable and faster. I came to this conclusion by flashing the same ROM using both the USB cable and the SD method

2: once you perform your hard reset and the phone is progressing through the different flash screens, you perform another soft reset during the stage when you are asked to setup the phone seems to have GREATLY increased the performance and speed of the phone.

3: there are areas in BuilderOS that you can only select 1 item even if they are check boxes are you are able to select multiple items, these areas seem to be; Today Plug ins, Task Managers, Multimedia, and some others I can't remember off the top of my head.

4: the overwrite errors that were being received were due to having duplicate items selected from different areas, such as having colonel's personal setting (which have sounds) and then selecting a box in that area or another area that also has that sound

5: as far as size goes having a ROM around the size of 90mb (or smaller) seems to work the best

Thanks again for the input

Re: How big is too big for a ROM? Mine does not work
 

Meanfishy,

As for only being able to select one (checkbox) item in certain areas of BuildOS, I recall that I could select as many today screen plugins as I wanted. Odd that you cannot.

Also, a tip regarding Task Managers - Have you tried QuickMenu? It's tiny, and in addition to functioning as a task manager, it also reorganizes the Start menu to look and act more like a desktop PC, and it can display the battery level and available memory on the status bar at all times. It also can allow you to quickly recover memory by using its built-in Hibernate command or quickly do a soft reset, among other things. I have the Hibernate feature mapped so that all I have to do is press and hold the Start menu until a notification box comes up showing how much memory was recovered. I don't even have to dismiss the notification; it auto-closes in about 2 seconds.

Re: How big is too big for a ROM? Mine does not work
 

I can select multiple items, (check boxes) but when I do so that is when I experience the problems. and it was with these areas that cause the biggest problem. ie unstable performance, lags, freezes, etc...

I will try QuickMenu I have been using the WkTASK, have you any experience/opinions with this one?

Re: How big is too big for a ROM? Mine does not work
 

Meanfishy,

I think that some of the Today screen plugin problems (slow performance, lags, freezes, etc..) can be attributed to the very nature of the plugins - They usually stay running in memory pulling or aggregating whatever data you've asked them to. The benefit of them is that you can have a lot of information ready for quick access, but at the price of speed and memory.

As for WkTASK, I recall that some time ago (on my old 6700) I tried a task manager that placed icons on the status bar. I hated it, and replaced it with QuickMenu. My phone was more responsive, and I could do more than the old task manager allowed. One problem though - I don't remember the name of the old program!

Re: How big is too big for a ROM? Mine does not work
 

Yeah I can't stand how WkTASK lists items on the status bar! Looks like another ROM is in the making :headbang:


Sleep is overrated!!!!!!!!! :scratch::scratch::scratch::scratch::scratch:

Re: How big is too big for a ROM? Mine does not work
 

Here's a suggestion to make QuickMenu really slick once you've installed it. If it doesn't replace your Start Menu on the first boot, go into Programs and select its icon. It should appear where the Start menu normally would. There will be an entry labeled 'QuickMenu' with a right pointing arrow. Tap it, and choose "Option..." from the resulting menu. I highly suggest that you check three options on the 'General' tab: "Auto start when system start", "Replace system's start-menu", and "Register win key of device".

Also, there is an option "Long-press win-logo". Check it and open the drop-down list. In it, you can choose many options, but I prefer 'Hibernate'.

If always seeing ActiveSync listed as a running program bothers you, QuickMenu can hide it for you. To do this, go to the 'Exclude' tab and click 'Add'. Tap the ActiveSync entry there and then 'OK'. It will return you to the previous screen. Tap on the ActiveSync entry there and change it from 'Not close' to 'Both not'.

To make QuickMenu show a more compact & streamlined Start menu like a desktop PC, go to the 'Menu Items' tab. Under a box labeled 'Top-level:" there will be a list of all the stuff it can show on the menu at first glance. Tap on 'Running programs' and check the "In sub menu" box. Do the same for 'Frequenters'. A couple of notes on the Frequenters menu - It is not automatic as a PC's is. What is on it is controlled by the choices you make in the "Menus" option in the personal category of your settings. Second, whatever is on it DOES NOT appear in the main programs list.

Enjoy playing around with the options! (I personally love programs that give me lots and lots of options. Bonus points in my book if they're compactly written.)