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[Q] What to do with HTC Desire HD?

Hey
Im kind of behind with Smartphones because I had a Samsung D500 for several years, it was only a few months ago I upgraded and got myself a HTC Desire HD on Contract. Ive been using it completly standard, with all the official software etc..
Im beginning to get quite bored of it now though and I still have like 1 and a half years left on my contract.
All I seem to do with the phone is... standard SMS texting, phone calls, facebook, twitter and check a couple of websites every now and then.
I have read around and hear things about "ROMS" and "ROOTS", but dont really know what that means.
Im just wondering, if you had this phone.. What would you do with it exactly?
Something to make it look/feel like a new phone maybe..... I duno
Just want some opinions, recommendations really
Thanks

Custom ROMs
A stock ROM is the version of the phone's operating system that comes with your phone when you buy it.
A custom ROM is a fully standalone version of the OS, including the kernel (which makes everything run), apps, services, etc - everything you need to operate the device, except it's customized by someone in some way.
So what does the "customized" part mean? Since Android is open source, developers are free to take stock ROMs, modify them, strip them of garbage, optimize them, add things, and pretty much do whatever their imagination and skills allow.
Custom ROMs are oftentimes faster, more efficient, and use less memory because:
- the developer ripped out useless garbage, such as carrier installed apps or
- the developer optimized the kernel. For example, an undervolted kernel can provide a much better battery life than the stock one.
You can upgrade to a version of the OS that has not yet been released for your device, or never will be. This is possible in 2 situations:
- A leaked version of the new ROM showed up online, and the developer got on it like the fat kid chasing an ice cream truck.
- A ROM from another phone was ported by the developer to work on yours. For example, G1 and MyTouch 3G users may never see Android 2.1 officially released on their phones, but Cyanogen, one of the most respected Android developers, was able to create a custom ROM running 2.1 for those devices.
ROOTING:
Getting root or rooting your phone is the process of modifying the operating system that shipped with your device to grant you complete control over it.
This means you can overcome limitations that the carriers and manufacturers put on your phone, extend system functionality, and even upgrade it to a custom flavor of Android.
The name root comes from the Linux operating system world, where the most privileged user on the system (otherwise known as Administrator on Windows) is called root.
You have access to alter any system files, use themes, change boot images, delete annoying stock apps, such as Sprint's NFL Mobile live and Nascar Sprint Cup Mobile, and other various native applications that might drive you crazy (Footprints, Voice Dialer, etc).
On most rooted Android devices, you can back up your entire system to an SD card, much in the same way you can image a hard drive. This is great if you’d like to try a new ROM, as you can back up your phone, wipe it completely, flash the new ROM, and if you don’t like it, just restore from your backup to get your device back to exactly how it was before you wiped it.
The easiest way to do this at the moment is by using ROM Manager.
ROM Manager allows you to easily flash a custom recovery image which is what you will need in order to backup and restore your phone. The recovery image is a special program that can be booted into outside of the phone's main operating system, sort of like an OS recovery console on a PC. By default, the recovery image on most Android phones only gives you a few options, mainly related to wiping the phone. Custom recovery images expand upon these options and usually include scripts that can do things like backup and restore your system, fix file permissions, or allow you to flash custom ROMs that the normal recovery image would otherwise reject.
Normally, flashing a custom recovery image requires some command line work, either on your PC, or on a terminal emulator directly on the phone, but Koush's ROM Manager should automatically flash his custom recovery image (known as ClockworkMod Recovery) for you, provided you're on one of the supported phones and that it is already rooted.
Using ROM Manager is pretty simple. Download and install the application from the market, fire it up, and you’ll be prompted to allow the application superuser permissions - make sure you approve it.
The first thing you’ll need to do is flash the ClockworkMod recovery image that I mentioned earlier, which can be done right in the app (it’s the first option). ROM Manager should automatically find the latest version of the right image for your phone, download, and install it - the whole process is seamless.
After that is done, you can simply use the ‘Manage and Restore Backups’, and ‘Backup current ROM’ options to, well, backup your current ROM or restore from an existing backup.
Rooting Guide for Desire HD
Desire HD ROMs

If you're bored with the look and feel of the phone then by all means customize it. Custom ROMs etc can help with that, or even just trying another Launcher like ADW EX. Make it a project to do something creative and artsy and then post your work here. Rooting will allow greater scope of what you can accomplish, like changing the system Fonts, for example.
Really though, if you're not interested in that kinda thing, i'd suggest just doing more of what the phones are designed for in the first place, which is running applications. Perhaps you might edit your OP to request a list of entertaining apps so that people can throw out suggestions?
A few time killers that i enjoy:
IMDb (For watching trailers and reading about movies)
Cracked Lite (Funny and informative articles)
Amazon Kindle (Reading books on the go)
Wimp.com (Fantastic collection of videos. Think of it as youtube's greatest hits)

Heya thanks for that reply
Well I am interested in a custom ROM, it sounds cool. Especially if it removes crap I dont need to save my battery life etc
Id like to try a new ROM, I had a go last night and installed ROM Manager but it said something about it couldnt find superuser and told me to google it lol, so I went to sleep
Now I am awake I am willing to give it a bash and would like to do it
Dont think Id be much use trying to do my own though,would rather use someone elses if Im allowed too? A very fast/power efficient/nicelooking/stable one etc.. Any you recommend?
Just doing that successfully would be a big enough project for myself as its my first time Heh

Before I go ahead and break my phone, are these instructions the correct ones for me?
Shall I do what this says to setup superuser?
pocketnow.com/android/how-to-root-your-htc-desire-hd

Sorry I just noticed you have a big massive link with a guide for rooting my phone lol
I am going to do that now then thanks

As for ROMS, for my phone, is:
[ROM] MIUI 1.9.16 v.1: Freshly Squeezed Edition™ 16/09/11
The main custom ROM for me?
Would you recommend that one, from that link you posted, that one seems to be the only main one I can see

Need abit of help, got visionary on my phone. Ticked box r/w after boot or whatever and then when I click on Temproot now, it says rooting device etc.... but then it just goes to a black screen and stays a black screen.
Is this normal or is something going wrong?
- Apparently the latest firmware doesnt allow Visionary to work. I need to downgrade to an earlier firmware? How do I do that lol
Or should I just give up and stop now?

You have to downgrade to Froyo 1.3.2 first. Follow this guide.
Here's a guide for rooting, ENG and Radio S-OFF, Flashing radio and ROM

Flashing a radio?
Um this sounds abit to risky actually for my first time.
So from what I understand is, I could successfully flash my chosen custom ROM but the radio signal for phone calls/SMS texting and stuff.... could not work ?
I dont think I want to take that risk now Ive read that

dont flash any radios the one you have will work fine also have a look around in the dev forums.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=765

Im quite happy with what Ive done, someone mentioned to do it earlier on in this topic and its basically all I wanted, just a fresh look
I changed the HTC Skin to Slate, and then used the GO Launcher and using a green + black theme, done abit of customizing. Before all this I did a hard reset on the phone too, and using JuiceDefender. I like it, happy with it, feels fresh

Thanks for all the help and advice though I do appreciate

[Q] Is it true that custom ROM's are always less stable than stock ROM's ?

If it's true, why is that? Is it because stock ROM developers are better?
Not being a troll. Honest question.
I'm just curious. I use galaxy Ace, and I would very much like to use a custom ROM to get rid of all the samsung junk apps. But if it's unstable, it may not be worth it.

No. Well made custom roms are usually more stable and faster than stock roms, especially for devices which have unoptimized stock roms, such as the SGS.
You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one.

Hi 314! Really, I didn't know that. How do I do it safely?

My personal experience is that custom ROMs have been every bit as stable as stock ROMs. I'm quite often running alphas and dailies and impressed with their stability. Of course, doing that, you're bound to run into some gotcha's from time to time but that's part of the fun of dailies, discovering the changes and surprises. I'm on Deck's alpha1 ICS ROM and it's been sweet, but alpha2 hasn't worked for me (wigetsoid seems broken). Shurg. So I restored alpha1, wait for alpha3, and try and get my post count up to give Deck some feedback in his thread.

Thanks mhwarfield. What are dailies? and what is OPS?

"You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one."
Well i heard this before in some youtube video but exactly not sure how and with which software may be (root manager). Please somebody with experience in this matter give us a full guide how to remove junk apps after rooting. Thanks in advance

rayhan0701 said:
"You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one."
Well i heard this before in some youtube video but exactly not sure how and with which software may be (root manager). Please somebody with experience in this matter give us a full guide how to remove junk apps after rooting. Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do that easy with "Titanium Backup" from the Market after you Rooted your Device. I think you dont need "Titanium Back Pro" to Remove Junk Apps.

rayhan0701 said:
"You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one."
Well i heard this before in some youtube video but exactly not sure how and with which software may be (root manager). Please somebody with experience in this matter give us a full guide how to remove junk apps after rooting. Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's really really not difficult.
Android stores all user apps in "/data/app"
all stock apps are stored in "/system/app" (this includes every system app, even the keyboard, camera and the gallery are in here)
this is the place where the junk apps should be ( i never had a bloated phone, but i guess they are in here, because we need root to manipulate files here)
now use a file explorer with root function (i use root explorer, and i definitely recommend it) and browse to this folder.
search the junkApp.apk and delete it.
you're done
EDIT: oh and yes, you can do it with titanium backup too, but i don't know if you need the pro version for it

Once you get custom ROMs out of Alpha/Beta/RC, they're better than stock, in my opinion. "Custom" means they can be designed for extra speed, power, leanness, beauty, or any combination of the above.
I don't mind helping out with betas and contributing to developers. Usually, by the time it gets to beta, most stuff is buttoned up nice and tight--plus I don't demand much from my phone.
Sounds like you got it covered with root and Titanium Backup. But do not fear the custom ROM.

It really depends. Some developers are EXTREMELY aggressive and throw a ton of crap into their kernel/ROM without much testing so they can "get ahead" - but often this leads to instability.
Others carefully fix issues one by one, with the exception of initially doing "standard" mods (like extended power menu on Android).
Some ROMs will often see releases coming out multiple times a week, often with lots of changes and reverting back and forth, and ALWAYS rebasing on the latest and greatest stock base, even before it's proven. This approach can sometimes pay off, but the risk of screwing up is high. Most such ROMs turn out to be crap.
Other ROMs take the most stable known base available, and fix whatever remaining known issues exist, and make a few standard tweaks. These are the ROMs that you still see people using more than three months after the last update. An example of this is VillainROM over in I9100-land. I only know of two issues with it - one has a one-time-after-install workaround, and the other is specific to trying to run that ROM on a device it wasn't designed for (I777).

[Q] Kernel placement in a custom rom

I know it seems like a stupid question for someone who's used *nix systems for the last 4 or 5 years. Admittedly...I'm pretty dumb when it comes to indepth stuff like kernel placement in the update zips. So, basically what I want to do is replace the stock kernel in the KJ2-DEODEX update that ay0teddy put up with the Bali kernel without needing to flash one and then the other, I want to do it all in one move. Trying to get my phone set up to try my hand at making a custom rom(Don't know the specifics of what I want yet so don't ask stuff like the name, theme, included apps/scripts). And I'm wanting to do this all by hand, so please, don't tell me that I have to use the automated way(unless that's the most efficient way, and please make sure it can run on XP with less than 1GB of RAM[Yes, my computer is that old and no, not planning on upgrading to an entirely different rig anytime soon and can't find decent PC 3200 1GB RAM sticks for a decent price and am only including said info about PC because most rom cooking software I've seen out there only runs on newer systems.]).
EDIT: Well, until I get an answer because I've looked at a kernel's update.zip and a custom rom's update.zip, and I'm utterly baffled, I'm going to use GOv3.3 LEAN as a base(so far, the blue coloring stays, but going to figure out how to remove the Notification grabber graphic and change it back to default). And replaced Swype with iPhone Keyboard(I know. An android phone with an iPhone keyboard, yuck.), removed Lightning Launcher and replaced with ADW Launcher added MX Player, removed Quick Pic(probably gonna replace with ICS Gallery), going to replace the Camera App with ICS Camera+(if it can be replaced, that is). Now all that's left is to come up with a name(unless TLS doesn't plan on continuing Glorious Overdose, which would then allow me to continue the rom's legacy until we get 2.3 or higher on this device). I mean, I wouldn't take any credit for the ROM(minus adding some stuff and removing some stuff here and there) but the original creators would maintain all the credit, glory, yadda yadda yadda. (Also, found out that the SK4G, when using WidgetLocker to be enabled from boot and to disable the stock lockscreen, works wonderfully with an LCD Density of 200[the stock lockscreen appears small which is why WidgetLocker is needed to disable it and the Jump Menu is a little wonky, so, unless you don't use the Jump Menu or don't care if it is messed up or not, stick with 240.]). Also, all the ROM cooking(aside from apk editing) will be done on device due to the reason above(craptastic computer). TheLastSidekick and ay0teddy(assuming that I remember the original GO dev correctly), if you're reading this, let me know if it's alright or not for me to continue Glorious Overdose. I would PM the both of you, but I feel it's rather rude to PM for something as small as asking one question(albeit, an important one).
2ND EDIT: Broke down and PM'd them both and also found out the answer to my question from RicAndroid. So MODs can close this thread, delete it, whatever. I will however, be posting a ROM base with KJ2 DEODEX ROOT with the Bali kernel sometime soon. Make it easier for this deadpan forum to get some more life. I figure get the most popular ROM and the most popular kernel and release a ROM base(which I will take absolutely no credit for) for noobs like myself to use to build custom roms on.

Is there a way to "vanillalize" Android?

A lot of manufacturers customize Android, some just put a custom skin on it, some even redesign it to the point where people can't even recognize Android. So, my question is: is there a way to delete all bloatware (even the manufacturer updating app), and change every customized system app to their Vanilla counterparts (even SystemUI, Settings etc.)? Without, of course, installing a Custom ROM.
Why I want all this is the following: I have a device (I don't want to name it, because I want to keep this a General Question) that has a pretty big camp here on XDA, but the specific MODEL I have, does not. They didn't even figure out how to unlock the Bootloader for it, which is a shame, because now I cannot install Custom ROMs on it. It even uses completely different firmwares, than the other models, so no compatibility beetween the devices.
So, is there a way to do all this? I have root, of course, so that's no problem. Oh, and another thing: I can't install Xposed. I don't know why, but I can't.
Android 5.0.1

smileyhead said:
A lot of manufacturers customize Android, some just put a custom skin on it, some even redesign it to the point where people can't even recognize Android. So, my question is: is there a way to delete all bloatware (even the manufacturer updating app), and change every customized system app to their Vanilla counterparts (even SystemUI, Settings etc.)? Without, of course, installing a Custom ROM.
Why I want all this is the following: I have a device (I don't want to name it, because I want to keep this a General Question) that has a pretty big camp here on XDA, but the specific MODEL I have, does not. They didn't even figure out how to unlock the Bootloader for it, which is a shame, because now I cannot install Custom ROMs on it. It even uses completely different firmwares, than the other models, so no compatibility beetween the devices.
So, is there a way to do all this? I have root, of course, so that's no problem. Oh, and another thing: I can't install Xposed. I don't know why, but I can't.
Android 5.0.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
debloating can be done rather easily using root. many apps such as rom toolbox and titanium can aid with that.
as far as basically de-themeing the phone, im sure it would require a reasonable amount of developmental knowledge to even attempt.
even if i knew what device you had, im sure i couldnt help, but the level of possibility and difficulty could certainly vary from one device to another.

debloating can be done rather easily using root. many apps such as rom toolbox and titanium can aid with that.
as far as basically de-themeing the phone, im sure it would require a reasonable amount of developmental knowledge to even attempt.
even if i knew what device you had, im sure i couldnt help, but the level of possibility and difficulty could certainly vary from one device to another.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could flashing system apps work?

smileyhead said:
Could flashing system apps work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i assume you mean changing system apps.
that would depend on weather the app is themed, or there is some external themeing going on.
if its the app, and you want to change it, you will need to find apps compatible with your device and version, or they wont work.

It completely depends on the device. There is a huge diff between a themed os and a custom distro like you see on Samsung and HTC devices. I think only one oem makes a themed version and that is the oxygen os. The rest can't be done as it is not really a theme but a complete distro where system files and drivers have been replaced or re-written completely. The only way to truly do it is to flash a rom based on pure aosp code. Made you doing this removes just about all features from a device but as your bootloader is on unlocked and with no bypass you are kinda stuck.

i assume you mean changing system apps.
that would depend on weather the app is themed, or there is some external themeing going on.
if its the app, and you want to change it, you will need to find apps compatible with your device and version, or they wont work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some clarification: I meant deleting the themed system apps (Dialer, Settings, etc.), then flashing Gapps, and the other stuff that's not included in it (Settings, FaceUnlock, etc.).
It completely depends on the device. There is a huge diff between a themed os and a custom distro like you see on Samsung and HTC devices. I think only one oem makes a themed version and that is the oxygen os. The rest can't be done as it is not really a theme but a complete distro where system files and drivers have been replaced or re-written completely. The only way to truly do it is to flash a rom based on pure aosp code. Made you doing this removes just about all features from a device but as your bootloader is on unlocked and with no bypass you are kinda stuck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, this firmware is pretty much just a reskin with some additional functions (a really ugly reskin), so I thought about what I mentioned above. I can always reflash the firmware, if something goes wrong, without data loss.

I would look in your system partition. The easiest give away will be if there are extra frameworks. If there is you can bet that they replaced the apks instead of just theming them. Give it a shot and I hope it works.

Empty ROM

Hello everyone,
Im here for a long time now, enjoy my different android cellphone with different ROMs you proposed.
But now I wish one thing : a empty ROM with nothing in it for my Z3.
Is it existing and/or valuable? Indeed I want it to put a modded Store and add everything I want with nothing else.
Well I think Im not the only one in this quest and and maybe It's already discuss elsewhere.
Well thanks for all of your work its really amazing what you can do in here.

What do you mean by an "empty ROM" ?
You can always take a rom .zip and modify it the way you think it suits you best,
but I don't think many users here want to have a bootable rom with nothing in it.
Please specify what you mean by empty.
Do you mean no system at all, no apps, no bloat, no extra features besides AOSP?

he basically means no apps/widgets at all, just the rom itself

The rom itself functions because of the system apps or am I missing something?
But like I said he could use every rom zip and modify it, which would be in fact the same
as getting an "empty" one, where he had to add many apps for basic things like phone, settings etc.

Richy99 said:
he basically means no apps/widgets at all, just the rom itself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes That's what i am talking about.
I have just seen in android development ROMs with lot of apps.
I install ROM til the SGS and now I own a Z3.
Between I took a break with Android for iPhone.
Well I am again in android stuff and there are changes.
I mean when I installed ROM back in the days I had to flash the kernel, etc.
Now there's only a zip to flash in Recovery with all already configured.
How can I configure more? Choose what i want in the ROM.
Obviously I need Phone app (didn't know that's an app in fact) but for the rest, I can use for example Retrica for APN, Box for email etc. I don't advertise it's just examples.
Well are the cyanogen ROM nightlies what I am looking for?
I want to personalize all.
Thanks for the interest.

Well I understand the need to configure it yourself, but theres definitely no such rom. I for myself never saw something like that on xda. But like I said if you don't want the pre-installed apps you can open the rom zip and delete those you don't want and replace them with the ones you got.
But beware: like I already said there's a whole lot of apps for basic phone features which may not appear as an app with an actual interface on your device but rather work in the background. Deleting such could end in a brick in the worst case.
CyanogenMod has all the standard apps pre-installed like every other major custom rom out there.
It's designed to be flashed and used right away.