Database Info

How to handle ExtROM apps after BigROM flashing

Hello,
I read a lot about the big ROM flashing and did this on my XDA mini. Anything seems to work so I'm quite happy until now. One point of concern is still there... what about the apps from the ExtROM that I copied for backup on my harddisk? Using an XDA on the O2 network, we are talking about apps like Homezone and O2 settings.
If I understood the BigROM thing right, I deleted the ExtROM that was executed on a hard reset before. Therefore, after BigROM,
- no O2 app will be loaded after hard reset
- no autostarter, like in the O2 ExtROM, is necessary any more since nothing is loaded after hard reset
- after hard reset, all apps have to be installed once again
- best way to keep the apps secure and appropriate is install all apps once and frequently backup the whole setup
Is this the right way to look at the changes?
Another question about the O2 files: Besides the homezone control, are there alternative programs for the rest (Java, Today screen) or do I need the special O2 apps due to the settings coming with them?
Any help appreciated!

Yes you got it all right! After the Big Storage ROM the Extended ROM bit was deleted from the ROM. The space consumed by the Extended ROM is now available for you to use under the /Storarge folder.
Now, to install the required extended ROM programs just copy them to any folder on the PPC and click on them from the file explorer.
However I would suggest to install a program called CABINSTL. This allows you to run CAB files and install them in the folder of your choice instead of the default folder that consumes some of your precious RAM. I would install these CAB files in the /Storage folder, thus making benefit of the Big Storage ROM
The same applies to any other program you install. Always install it in /Storage. If you don't, after the Big Storage upgrade the only benefit would be of having some extra storage space. If you have an SD Card you don't need this space so might as well use it to install programs and free up the RAM.

If I use the cabinstl programme to manually install my Orange ExtRom files after a BigStorage install - even when I choose a different install location (eg. /Storage) the utility is still installed into the default location (usually somewhere in /Windows/).

I have the same problem. Also i pushed the option not to delete the cab file, but after install they are deleted I know i can make them read only, but i cannot do this trough explore of activesync.

It appears that some CAB files have their install location 'hard coded' into the file so it cannot or should not be changed.
I guess that this is to ensure that the utility works correctly so I don't suppose that there is much that we can do.

You can edit the CAB on your PC and define your own folder. However this is not recommended as the code for these programs may have some paths that are hard coded as well.
Anyway these couple of CAB files will not impact your overall RAM situation at all. On mine I only installed JAVA, MMS, Bluetooth and Camera patches from the Extended ROM. I don't need the rest.

Thanks for your help! So is it okay to install anything in the storage that goes there without complaining? As I installed PocketPlus there, Windows looked at it like on the memory card and displayed a message that installing apps there could become a problem during startup.
Thanks again and bye!

Question after BigStorage...

I've done the big storage patch on my Magician. And I understand that if you restore files from a backup made when one didn't have big storage, one is likely to have just wasted time on the patching as the file structure would revert back over-writing some (hex?) values, with the possibility of losing access to the Storage folder completly.
So here's my question. would it work both ways? Say I re-flash my Magician with the ROM it came with, and that I have a backup from a ROM that has the BigStorage patch, and then restore from that backup, what would happen? Will the backup from BigStorage ROM override the shipped ROM's file structure? Or will it just mess things up?
I realize that this may seem pointless to most users. But I am missing a registry key for a Bluetooth function (syncing via Bluetooth, and I think it's just one key...). Let's just say I don't have the guts to re-flash my Magician two more times (back to shipped ROM, get what I need, then to BS ROM) given the risk posted above.
Could anyone shed some light on my question?
Thanks

Don't know what kind of backup you're referring too. Is it a rom-backup then yes you're reverting to normal storage. With a RAM data backup you're not going to write to ROM & cannot change the addresses you mention.
Did you load the BT patch ext-rom cab after the boot or do you have plain WM2003Se now?
My advice: load the cabs with patches from your ext-rom.
M

Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that but i think you answered my question. Suppose I made a backup (with the BS ROM) using Sprite software, and I re-flash my Magician with the shipped ROM that I backed up, and restore from the Sprite backup, what would happen? And given your answer, I'm supposed to expect that the Sprite backup is not capable of changing the addresses, right? So then I'd have the BS registry settings, shortcuts, and blahblahs, but only 7.6MB useable memory in the Storage folder?
To answer your question, yes I did load the CAB files I needed from the ExtRom including BTHUSB_PATCH_AKU26.CAB (which I think is for Bluetooth?) but to no avail, as I've lost the capability to sync using Bluetooth ever since I did the BS patch. I even loaded that CAB file a second time just in case, but still to no avail. (Note that the hardware works though. I can make a device pairing and all that...)
I'm trying to avoid re-flashing my Magician twice just to get that registry key as that would be my last resort. Hahahaha
In any case, here's a list of the CAB files I loaded, if it matters.
Band_Select_Enable.sa.CAB
BTHUSB_PATCH_AKU26.CAB
CAB-ArcsoftMMS-2.0.022-Magician-O2Asia-ENU-21Mar05.CAB
CAB-Customization-Magician-O2AsiaWWE-31Jan05.sa.CAB
Caller_ID_Magician_Generic_WWE_RC13.CAB
CameraWizard_O2Asia_Customize.CAB
CV2.41.386_wwe.CAB
default_103133.sa.CAB
DelAddStarMenu_092404.sa.CAB
DialerSkin_Landscap_091104.sa.CAB
DialerSkin_Portrait_091104.sa.CAB
Fix_dual_SIM.sa.CAB
JMM101257_wwe_1004.CAB
O2_Base_v103116.sa.CAB
O2_Default_103133.sa.CAB
O2Auto.sa.CAB
PhonePad_Magician_Generic_WWE_RC12.CAB
SmartDialing_Magician_Generic_WWE_RC13.CAB
Version_WWE_111922.sa.CAB
Including 2 CAB files for my service provider. Is there anything else that I could have missed? I used the config.txt in the ExtRom folder as basis for the CAB files to install.
PS: I'm not quite sure what you meant by 'patches' from my ExtRom...

With the 'patches' I meant some of the cabs you installed from the ext-rom, eg for BlueTooth, battery & camera.
I'm only using usb for syncing, so I'm unable to confirm BT sync works for me, no BT hardware on my PC. Still you got a strange prob. Did you try a hard-reset & are you using the latest Sprite version?
M

I've done one hard-reset a week after I flashed my Magician with the BS ROM so that I could test a previous Sprite backup (Sprite ver 3.2 if that helps), since I was just curious as to if the backup would fully restore everything [and it did btw].
Curious, what would the latest/lower version of Sprite backup have to do with my problem?

With previous versions I sometimes got notifications that the registry backup/restore wasn't fully successful.
Sprite will restore all RAM data & the \Storage data not the size, so you could end up with a partial restore when you try to restore > 7MB to the standard \Storage folder.
Did you check all Act.Sync settings on your Magician, guess you probably did a 1000 times?
Regards, M

Yes I did check all the Async options on my Magician. I did run into a problem regarding Bluetooth with the Magician's Async and speculated that I was missing a registry key. Check out the post I made here regarding that http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=50937.
After getting boh113's registry file, the `Bluetooth option came back but still wouldn't work. So I'm assuming that the addresses don't match with my Magician.
I gave it some thought and the only way I came up with to get back the Bluetooth functionality was this:
1) re-flash my unit with the ROM it was shipped with
2) deal with the \Storage folder problem if any
3) extract the whole bare registry
4) re-flash my unit with the BS ROM
5) merge the extracted registry (I'm not sure if this'll cause unforeseen problems)
6) pray
hahahahaha! Hopefully I'd get back Bluetooth syncing. Of course I'd try to avoid doing this as this would be my last resort. I will most likely need a whole day for this, and I doubt I can do that this week. Might try next week if I put up enough guts.
I MIGHT be missing some DLL files in \Windows although I doubt that. But it's still a possibility..
I do have one more question.
I assume I did the following successfully since my Magician works:
a. shipped ROM backup + dumping
b. hex-editing on the shipped ROM to make it a BS ROM
c. flashing with BS ROM
So here's my question, though I see it to be silly. Would it be safe to re-flash my unit with the BS ROM (that I patched) instead of doing it again from scratch (i.e. the 6-step procedure I listed)? My unit will still have the 20+MB \Storage folder right?

restoring your PPC guide

Thanks everyone for providing a great resource here.
I've searched and searched but I can't find inthe forum or the wiki a difinitive guide to restoring your device after upgrading. if possible can someone make a wiki or if I have somehow missed it point me in the right direction?
what I know is limited, but here maybe the start of a wiki
After using the guides to upgrade your PPC, you want to get it back to how it was before
1.Activesyc device (but it looses previous settings can this be fixed?)
2. restore just mail using Spb backup (is this safe? does anyone know of a better way to get your MMSs and SMSs back?
3.make a CAB with all the files and settings using winCE CAB manager (if anyone can help a little here that would be great)
how do we install progs to storage card?
in regards to adding registry keys, I assume we backup the registry then change the settings and/or install the programs that we want then compare the current registry with the previous one and then whatever new has been added then this is what we should add?
4.do we have to reinstall programs that sync seperately? eg phatnotes or ewallet?
Thanks

I can answer a little for you,
1 = only wm2003 can restore more than pocket outlook info
2 = spb is not safe for upgrades, though I have read of people doing it. Try PIM Backup v1.9 (Release date 15/05/2007) by dotfred
3 = make your own extended rom (or even your own rom). or keep cab files for everything on a storage card in one file, and install one after the other after a flash.
4 = i don't understand the question
try sprite backup. it is able to restore accross rom upgrades

Sprite Backup, Smartphone Emulator and the ROM Cooking Tools...

Ok this is a newb question but is there any integration between these three?
I would like to do some relatively basic customization to ROMs I install and be able to reapply them. It would also be nice to work in a PC environment and test there. Any guidance?

I guess you can backup either smartphone or emulated device via activesync with more expensive version of sprite backup, and then restore the backup to any device or emulator again... should be enough.

As far as I know, it's not possible to emulate the ROMS on a PC using an emulator. I remember someone else asking about this. Yep... you're reviving part of this topic.

ok, forget about the emulator...
If I run sprite backup on a ROM and do a backup, does it just save the changes that I made to the ROM or does it save everything in the ROM?
If it is the former, it would seem that I could reapply my changes to a new ROM after an upgrade...
owner information
carrier MMS and phone information
updated styles
softbutton location assignments
adding new icons
registry install information for programs
added and deleted icons
etc.
...and I could keep reapplying these same changes to new ROM builds as long as the changes didn't break a new build.
Or am I missing something?
If Sprite Backup is only good for a given build and I switch ROM builds every quarter it doesn't seem worth doing a backup.

ROM Cooking
bipinsen said:
As far as I know, it's not possible to emulate the ROMS on a PC using an emulator... this topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I have even more respect for ROM builders now. I can't imagine having to apply changes without being able to test them in an emulator, although if you can apply your changes to your phone and save that image to make a ROM later, it seems like you wouldn't need Sprite Backup. You would just use the ROM tools to backup your whole ROM.

kkrull said:
If I run sprite backup on a ROM and do a backup, does it just save the changes that I made to the ROM or does it save everything in the ROM?
If it is the former, it would seem that I could reapply my changes to a new ROM after an upgrade...
owner information
carrier MMS and phone information
updated styles
softbutton location assignments
adding new icons
registry install information for programs
added and deleted icons
etc.
...and I could keep reapplying these same changes to new ROM builds as long as the changes didn't break a new build.
Or am I missing something?
If Sprite Backup is only good for a given build and I switch ROM builds every quarter it doesn't seem worth doing a backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a hit or miss depending on the ROM version. I have noticed that the registry entries among the different versions for WM6 (different builds) are sometimes different enough that registry restores don't always work. Here's been my strategy (you have to do a search yourself for these softwares):
- Connect with Mobile Registry Editor from my PC to phone => backup as separate .reg files all pertinent locations of the registry that I want
- Have a permanent location in my SD card where I can keep these .reg files
- When I have downloaded a new ROM, I use Resco Registry Editor to import the reg files back in registry. Since I'm not importing the entire hive, I have been reasonably successful with this. Note: there are many different ways of importing registry files on the phone; I just like Resco.

what do u use to backup when flashing a rom?

Normally I use sprite, or i just copy everything off my device to a folder on my desktop, but it seems like theres no easy way to flash a rom and keep everything from your device previously.
when using sprite, it may save things in the windows folder or registry, causing this new flashed rom to not work properly, or not have all the effects it's supposed to.
yes you can disable this in sprite, but if you do that you may lose the registry settings or some files that some 3rd party apps used.
so what do you guys do when flashing a new rom?

I guess restoring over different roms is not such a great idea.
UC compatible roms do make it a lot easier.

Use settings saviour, create custom cabs to install registry settings, Install Apps on SdCard, then make a folder with the shortcuts and copy the shortcuts back to programs folder. Re-install from active sync,
The best though that I have used lately, is the UC compatible roms that allow Cabs and registry settings to be install automatically after Hard reset or rom install.
Some people copy pim.vol to sdcard and then copy back later, but since i use exchange activesync, I find that to be useless.
But Never, ever restore from a backup if upgrading to a new rom...Sometime people say it works and other times it causes issues...

rohanmaini said:
I guess restoring over different roms is not such a great idea.
UC compatible roms do make it a lot easier. Though, I am waiting for the day when we shall be able to install programs to the storage card....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use the app WinCe cab manager and modify the install directory, very usefull when using UC compatible roms.

This has been a common question when flashing ROMs....and unfrotunately there is no 100% answer.
Different ROMs/chefs put in different tweaks, progs in different locations, etc, so a traditional backup/restore will not work well (as you put it already).
There is some really good promise using UC Compliant ROMs. See here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=366337
Using these UC compliant ROMS, you can do two things:
1. Automatically install your favorite progs. It does this after flashing and initially setting up your device. NOTE: you can only install progs to main mem, not Storage Card.
2. Automatically "tweak" your device beyond just installing cabs using XML based settings files. This is something I have not played with yet, but this could put back specific settings just the way you like them.
I am sure that there will still be some things that conflict on occasion, but at least it is a good timesaver.
There are also some commercial programs that can package up all your cabs into a "super" cab and install them all at once as well. I can't recall the name right now though.