What is Radio ROM? Extended ROM? - Upgrading, Modifying and Unlocking

I've noticed that there are a lot of people wanted to upgrade the 'radio ROM' for some reason.
I'm just wondering, what is a Radio ROM?
And, as far as I understand about Extended ROM, it is for the network provider to add in their customed software/icon/logo (and application goodies) into the system, right? So, how about the irritating splash screen? That's in Ext ROM?
Sorry to create a new topic for this but I don't want to disturb the readily busy sites on topic how to upgrade radio rom on their respective devices.

Forum searches are wonderfull things....
Basically, the radio rom is the firmware that runs the phone, wireless and blutooth portions of the phone. Newer versions are likly to improve performance or fix bugs.
The extended rom does include operator customisations, and other programs to be installed when a hard reset occurs.

Related

Basic Questions... =)

i'm just a newbie with HTC. i do know a lot about Symbian phones specially Nokia models. I just purchased a XDA II mini, and i've heard i cut put applications, tools and games with it as well.
i'm already collecting stuff for that. then, i encounter that I could also upgrade, WWE, Radio and Extended ROM.
i have no idea on that, can some1 explain me how this things works... pls. pls. pls... thanx
i have download some ROM, and Radio. i've used it following instructions listed on the site. and have seen my new XDA being updated. but i don't have an extended ROM????? how to install one??? tnx again and more power to all...
The Radio ROM is responsible for your normal GSM function (it doesn't handles WiFi). It is like the firmware of your normal (say) Nokia (non-symbian) phone. I think you need to specifically upgrade the Radio seperately (e.g. not included in ROM package). Some say that upgrading the Radio will improve things such as phone related speed and reception quality.
A ROM usually comes in a package (that is, it includes Ext-ROM). Depending on how you upgrade your ROM, you probably already upgraded your Ext-ROM as well. Probably that's why you didn't see Ext-ROM to be downloaded. However, there are user forged ExtRom that suppose to have all the goodies in it, such that, every time you perform a hard reset, you do not need to seperately install your favourite/essential software.
The Ext-ROM is the area that phone-operators put their customized stuff in. Example, both operators O2 and T-Mobile may have the same ROM for their respective HTC-Magician model, but they surely have different Ext-ROM. This Ext-ROM determines how the phone looks like what the operator wants it to be (e.g. theme and colour of O2, GSM related settings, GPRS settings).
If your phone (or the ROM you upgraded) is from the same operator (e.g. O2, T-mobile) or distribtor (e.g. Qtek, iMate), you may not see much of a difference as both Ext-ROM may actually have the same packaging.
Tell us how you upgrade your unit and we may able to tell you if you already Ext rom upgraded.
WWE is World Wrestling Entertainment which...
Seriously, WWE is a code that shows you which region the particular ROM is for. WWE is for World Wide English (I think) which is generally the default for most phone. However, if you like, you can get other region ROM to installed on your device (make sure they are compatible). You can basically guess that region they are from by guessing these code (you can find - but difficult - them on the web), e.g. Italian ones might be ITY, Spanish on might be SPN, etc.
Big thanx...
thanx thanx for the reply.. for the efort... and much mor for the time...
anywys like your meaning of WWE! hehe.. but i do understand that already as some indications of language/region settings of the ROM package.
i'm having problem with EXT-Rom because, after flashing, when i check Device information, it says about my ROM version, my RADIO version, but my EXT-ROM is blank. i downloaded the package ROM from this site. the 1.12 package for magician, have downloaded also the separate Radio package (1.13), but the ROM package doesn't seem to install the EXT-ROM.
i tried downloading EXT-ROM on separate folder of the FTP, but as i cud see it is not like the ROM files and Radio Files that comes in package. the 2 EXT-ROM i downloaded was a chunk of CAB files and ZIP/RAR files... i was wondering if i should copy all of them to my XDA and manually install..
is there a built in package EXT-ROM??? or is there a program that automatically install them???
again thanxs so much... hopefully when i fully understand the XDA world i could contribute and share my stuff... thanx to the group! =)
Your unit runs on W2003 while mine runs on WM5. So, I can't really give details on your missing ExtRom.
However, yes, ExtRom usually comes with a bunch of CAB files and come XML or config files. What you need to do is, try to search for unlocking Ext rom in this forum or the wiki http://wiki.xda-developers.com/ to check on how to unlock the ext rom.
As for magician, there is a thing called Big Storage, which seems to handle ExtRom differently. I don't have the details, someone with a Magician big storage may able to help you on this. Anyway, check to see if your ROM is a big storage enabled version. If it is, it should be very obvious (stated on the page/rom somewhere) as this big storage thing is a hit in Magician. You may have to treat the one with/without big storage enabled one differently.
Anyway, advise is, look for the unlock ext-rom for Magician. Follow the instructions carefully (though ext rom fiddling is usually non fatal), and see if can have it unlocked. You should then have a seperate 'partition' or folder that you can write on normally. Just copy everything into the 'partition' and you had your very own ext-rom. That's why extrom looks different than the ROM itself.
thanx thanx again..
yup i did download one of the big storage rom in the xda-developers ftp site with ver 1.12
i did flash that to my phone, and always get Ext-Rom error to my device... ROM and Radio is ok, but EXt ROM is a failure.. anyways, following your advice i downloade a separate Ext-ROM files and hit the autoconfig, and from there everything was ok.... =)
you did mention that your device runs WM2005, and mine 2003... is it possible to upgrade that as well??? is there a tool to do that??? and is that different from the ROM files to upgrade the device???
---(having problems) for the last 2 days, i can't access the FTP folder of xda-developers... "page can't be displayed", r we experiencing problem with the site??? can u pls post a link on how to access it directly??? same with wiki.xda-developers...
BIG Thanx! =)
Big storage version may not have ExtRom, probably that's why you are having problems with it. Anyway, the method you've done is just simply installing the Ext Rom stuff into your device. Upon the next hard reset, you have to reinstall the ExtRom stuff again manually (as oppose to if you have Ext Rom, the stuff will be install automatically upon hardreset). But I guess since you don't hardreset it everyday, it is the same.
No. Repeat. NO. you can't upgrade your device to WM5. It has been well proven that Magician cannot be upgrade to WM5. And do not try to install ROM from other devices (e.g. Charmer) which looks very similiar to Magician. They are different in hardware and hence the ROMs are not compatible. And you may kill your device. So, repeat again, do not attempt to upgrade your Magician to WM5. You can always stay here and read new threads. WM5 in Magician is a superb news that if there is a possibility, it will be a hit in this forum.
BTW, on the bright side, you can see that Magician is a better device than Charmer although the latter runs WM5. Magician is superb in almost all the tasks given. Take a look at this thread to see the advantages of Magician vs Charmer. So, able to run W2003 is not such a bad thing at all. Probably WM5 will slow the Magician down.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=55153&highlight=

Confused

I've been using my XDA Exec for almost a year now and have tried my hand at a few ROM upgrades - I'm not toally sure what I'm doing so I don't tend to try much. I now want to understand more about what each element of the upgrade does and I'm having problems finding out what does what. Can someone explain in easy terms what the CE ROM is and what it contains (I'm guessing its the operating system), what the Extended Image is and what it contains, and finally what the RADIO ROM is and what it does (or contains). I then want to try and mix and math the various bits to get the device I'm after.
Thanks
I'm currently showing ROM 2.01.06, RADIO 1.15.00, protocol 42.51.P8 and OS build 5.2.318 (Build 15341.0.0.0)
More confusion
Also, please, what is the difference between a standard ROM and a WWE ROM? I note that my question has not been covered in the glossary of terms, so is everyone else confused or is eveyone else too lazy to help out a n00b?
o.k very simple:
Ce ROM : (WM5 or WM6 etc) is the OS of your device, it can be compared to windowsXP in your desktop.
Extended Image=Extended ROM: is the image/ROM which has additional 3party application software on it. Those software’s can be related to your service provider settings /application or application simple as Adobe PDF; Backup software etc.
Extended image will be installed in a special area which called Extended ROM (ca. 10mg capacity) on your device. Normally this area is locked and hidden in official ROM. Application software or information stored in this area still untouched and available after a “hard reset (setting the device back to factory/provider settings)”
But in the ROM’s that are available in this form here (self cooked/made) is the extended ROM is mostly unlocked and visible. Moreover You will observe that this area has no more application on it anymore. Therefore you can make use of this area with storing some important data which you want to still available in case of hard reset.
RADIO ROM: includes only information for Phone functionality. It is a “application” to able the devices communicate with GSM, 3G etc. However you will find few available Radio versions. The most used one is currently 1.15 but it really depends on your location. Some are very happy with 1.15 but others having problems to receiving signals with it and leading the device been unstable.
WWE= World Wide English: that is related to OS (CE ROM) language version. It means it is English ROM.
I suggest you read the WIKI ,a lot of things that you can take from there
Bulldog,
Very many thanks for your help, and yes, I've read various bits of the Wiki but couldn't find the answers I was looking for. I appreciate the basic explanation.
I am currently using the extended ROM area as storage as I haven't found anything (CABs?) in there. Another question ref the OS ROM bit, do all 'cooked' OS ROMs of the same version have the same contents or can they vary from ROM to ROM (even if they say the same version number)?
Rgds, Phil
Hi Phil,
I assume you are using ROM made by one of the cooker here?
every cooker has own preference of software (additional to the OS) that includes in to ROM image. Basically they combine now the OS with extended rom.
You may hear the expression of "Vanilla" that indicates that ROM clean from any additional software and has only the OS on it.
Moreover different cooker may use different supporting application like commanager etc and build ROM which is XXX version. Moreover during the cooking different ROM builder using different registry settings which ends up as XXX version but have totally different performance.
Bulldog,
I am using one of the ROMs from this forum, from one of the 'stikkies'. I've tried a few but can't find the one I originally upgraded to when WM6 first came available (and also don't know whose it was!). I think I'm currently using Helmi's "Helmi_WM2k6_v.1.1
WM6 OS 5.2.318 (Built 15341.0.0.0)" ROM although I'd like to try the DarkForce one but can't find it (see other post). I'm also going to try the vanilla ROM posted by Graham but have yet to upload it to my XDA.
Once I get a bit more comfortable, I'm going to try and teach myself (via lots of reading here) how to cook my own ROM to provide the apps and features I want - but that might take me some time!!
try the PDAVIET ROM, very good. Stable and fast! you will not regret it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=317823
darkforce rom hangs alot!

Questions regarding ROM upgrade

I will receive my HTC Diamond tomorrow, and have a couple of questions regarding ROM upgrade:
1. Will it affect the warranty if I install a non-official ROM?
2. Which ROM is preferred, SwiftBL or Duttys Diamond? Any others?
3. I suppose that I will need to have all menus in English when upgrading the ROM, but is it possible to install Norwegian keyboard (with æøå) for writing messages?
4. In what way will the phone be improved (most recognizable)? Speed? Battery?
5. Are there any disadvantages connected to upgrading the ROM, or only advantages?
The question which ROM is preferred everyone would answer different. If your receiveing the phone tomorrow your rom could already be upgraded with the new original ROM and if it's not I suggest that you try out the original one first then start playing around with your phone.
Also dont forget that if your gonna be playing around with ROMS and SPL you should do your homework so that you dont brick your phone and end up with nothing but a lump.
The phone is improved in speed and battery, but mostly speed if you compare it to the first ROMS.

General question to ROM's and cooked ones...

Sorry for (probably) stupid questions following
Why is it so important to flash a second ROM before flashing to the wished one? That's not clear for me. If I am right, a ROM consists of three elements: ROM (Whats in here?), PDA (Windows Mobile?!) and Phone (Phone Software). Please correct me if I am wrong... example with EFN's ROM for Samsung SGH i780.
Another one... I have had always (!!!) big problems with customized ROMs and different PDA's. Basically it was a problem, that phone does not ring when an e mail arrives and phone is in standby. After reactivating the phone, it immediately starts with the notification... however, just an example. Where is the problem? Aren't the components of a ROM speaking correctly with each other? Are these general problems of cooked ROM's?

Advice needed........

Ok so i'm new to this custom rom thing but i'm kinda forced to it since I bought my Diamond in India and apparently htc doesn't offer updates on their site and I can't be bothered to go to the airtel website (wich is probably in Hindy ) and look for an update.
So I managed to update to HardSPL 1.4 using the tutorial thread (thanks btw, all worked like a charm ) and installed the radio 1.0.25.05 (according to the same thread the recommended version)
So now i'm seeing many roms out there and have absolutely no clue wich rom to choose.
Maybe some advice ?
Here is my wishlist/stuff that matters
I'm based in Holland, so i'm bound to end up with one of the major providers here and gonna go for some hsdpa contract.
I'd love my HTC to be faster
I like the msn thing, but it's not required.
I don't want to be running beta/buggy softwares, my pc runs that kind of softwares, not my phone
Also i've seen (after installing the radio rom) that in a different thread there is a lot more different radio roms, with people liking the some better than the one reccommended in the tutorial post, is there a better rom and should I use it ? (better gps, faster, less batt usage ?)
Best are 1.93 rom for the "fast" part you asked but it's getting old (like 6 or 8month i guess). After you will want to go for a 2.03 rom which provides you more functionalities.
I will advise you Hikari rom, udK Syrius Topaz or Shaks or nataly. These are the rom I try every time there is a new release, I change rom every 1 or 2week so better is you check yourself.
You must have HardSPL unsigned edition for some of these rom, it's the same procedure as 1.4 SPL.
BTW, you know you can upgrade directly from your internal storage?
just put your nbh file in your storage card with the name "diamimg.nbh" (stands for Diamond Image) then reset while pressing VOL_DOWN + BACK (the button up from the hang up button). After this, you will see a HardSPL like screen (red blue green) then a gray~light blue screen asking to press the power button to upgrade.
You can do this for radio, spl and rom. It's quicker, safer and better IMO.
'night

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