Develop Bugs

Best / Reliable 6.1 Roms

Hello, I see a handful on 6.1 Roms in here. Short of loading each one of them. Which is more reliable or keeps on top of updates if needed?
Im Currently using the MRH. And I Dont know much kinda new in a way to upgrading my phone. But It just seems like there is alot missing with this rom.

sammyboy405 said:
Hello, I see a handful on 6.1 Roms in here. Short of loading each one of them. Which is more reliable or keeps on top of updates if needed?
Im Currently using the MRH. And I Dont know much kinda new in a way to upgrading my phone. But It just seems like there is alot missing with this rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u have to load each because each user here may have a different experience with each because for me one rom maybe perfect next person may crash left and right and so on so only way to know is trying each like i like pvh 19400 although am now trying pvh19900

To a fellow OK State alumn, I have tested at least a dozen different 6.1 ROMS and this one
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=376223
has been the cleanest, fastest, and most stable one for me. Just add the applications you want.

Much thanks! Yea thats the one i was toying around with. There are so many apps out there. I dont know where to start. and which ones would tailor towards my use.

i downloaded and tried them all,
Quite happy with the one ive got now, many have loads of apps but you start to loose available RAM when that happens.
best just to try a few and see which one best suits what you want to do, suggestion though is to keep your PIM and other things backed up incase you need to do a hard reset in the event of a freeze

Just keep on this forum as often as you can. It took me months to find out what I wanted and what worked. Just be patient and play around. It is more of a hobby to me than anything.

less questions and read read read the thread posts!! try a few with features u like! all the cooks have great roms if u know how to use them....

Best ROM
I have install and test almost all the WM 6.1 ROMS.
Like the other guys say you really have to test out a ROM as you might like some features over others.
In my time i have found the following:
TNT ROM WM6.1 to be the best all rounder - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=376945
Only thing i don't like about it is the startup speed. Every with the animation disabled and the network auto config it still makes a good long while.
Blinky ROM WM 6.1 Super fast and really cool - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=383751
My favourite ROM so far but does not come with many applications

im using pays rom 6.1, use it for a month now. stable and quite fast

level5_HTC said:
Blinky ROM WM 6.1 Super fast and really cool - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=383751
My favorite ROM so far but does not come with many applications
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its what I have and his review is spot on. Its very fast, probably the fastest I have ever used and incredibly fast startup time. It was missing many of the programs I like but thankfully I already had them on my storage card from playing with a Schaps Lite ROM a while back. I think my last changes will be a flashlight software like vjcandela and something better for BT transfers but all in all this is a great ROM and will definitely keep me happy until the next Schaps is released.

I like PDAViet build 19900... It is SOOOOOOOOO fast and had a remarkable 28Mb of ram left after installing it with almost 70Mb storage memory. Now down to about 25MB ram and 45Mb storage as I've put a heap of 3rd party apps on...Cheers...

the last Binky 6.1 WM 3.5 is a great slim one and you have the possibility to install your own apps after flashing
but guys, I can't beam files using the f***ing IR port... anyidea about it?

manilla2d vs HTC Home in memory terms

Hello, I was usgin joshoss V8B2 manilla2d and with some apps installed (via device update) I was left with like 10 megs free, so I tried the PDACornerPro.V27 - Build 20759 NonRBSN Josh-Abs (both greeeeeeeeat ROMS!!!!) and installed basically the same apps with the addition of HTC Home to have a nice look and feel (closer to manilla)... and ended up with around 12 megs free.... so I'm not sure which one is eating more resources.... any idea? manilla is still more unstable, right?
diego

Personally I do not feel that manila is for the hermes, until I get my touch3g I am going to run HTC home and spb mobile shell.

I am also quite interested in the study...
Currently using HTC HOme and happy with it, but if Manilla doesn't consume much more resources (In terms of RAM: for the storage we can all use a Micro SD anyway...), I would immediately switch !!!
Anybody can comment more?

I played around with the earlier versions of M2D but found it very unstable. I have yet to try the new roms with it cooked in but am going to soon.
I find HTC home a little bare for my needs with M2D doing what I want and not such a bare screen. I like the fullscreen use and nicer look. I believe it does use more Ram but not a major amount. My issue was always the stability. Hopefully the newer versions prove to be somewhat more stable then their earlier incarnations...
Cheers...

I am a streamline fanatic and like to keep my resources in check. Personally, on the Hermes I think Manila eats up to many resources.
Maybe in the earlier versions there might have been some memory leaks, but I noticed that in the end, I would end up with under 20megs of ram. And if you play with Manila that would go down. HTC Home uses about 4 megs.
Also when I had Manila on, I found that Opera would crash more often, mostly due to running out of memory while it would never do such thing while running HTC Home.
Also I noticed some sluggishness on the Hermes while using Manila, which also sometimes took a little longer --5-10 seconds-- to load, depending on the ROM.
So all in all, once HTC Home is loaded, it is always almost instantaneous, while Manila would again slowdown the phone in mid-operation. And by that I mean switching from the Today Screen to let's say settings or programs.

ultramag69 said:
I played around with the earlier versions of M2D but found it very unstable. I have yet to try the new roms with it cooked in but am going to soon.
I find HTC home a little bare for my needs with M2D doing what I want and not such a bare screen. I like the fullscreen use and nicer look. I believe it does use more Ram but not a major amount. My issue was always the stability. Hopefully the newer versions prove to be somewhat more stable then their earlier incarnations...
Cheers...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe Josh's version is stable (from what I read)

Hi guys,
I tried like 4-5 Manilla 2D builds. They all had some bugs which weren't such a pain in the ass, but they were annoying. I was using PDA Corner V25 - great rom. Several days ago I installed PDAViet's Manilla2D v20 ROM and I must admit it is great. I didn't have any problems with manilla in terms of performance. The RAM left is 21MB on boot. The overall performance of the ROM is great. All apps work as fast as on the abusalza's rom. However I haven't tested the YouTube app, since I don't use it. The only problem is the lower in call volume compared to abusalza's rom. And if you use video call, I'm not sure if it's included.

I used multiple ROMs with Manilla 2D .. im now flashing backa again to a ROM without Manilla because i had too many problems with it.. i'm used to listen a lot of music... but with manilla on my Hermie the battery is empty so fast that sometimes i don't even have the chance to lsiten to the music ( i recharge it every night.. and i usually listen to music at about 15:00 pm.. by then it's already on low battery =s
on the other hand there are some stupid buggs in it.. like youtube doesnt work... sometimes the usb-connection doesnt work.. or what also bothers me is the volume control that is removed from audiomanager... there are also some other small problems which bother me but i'm not going to spend any more time on it right now
sorry for my bad english =)
ps. if somebody finds a tool for me to change the music player in manilla ( like from audiomanager to windows mediaplayer) pm me pls..

yes, in my case, I was using Josh's version and it was very stable and had I think all functionality working...the problem was after installing some apps, and after runining for a while opening and closing things I get an error of out of memory...
is there a way to make all "Device Update" to install on storage card?
will some more space on main memory help the RAM issue?

I've tried it out a bit. I'm using update 19 from here, and the Manilla 2D Customiser. On CRC's 13.0 naked non-big storage rom, I used UC to put on all the cab files in the right order, except for the Opera and Youtube apps. Using the customiser, I have removed the internet, mapping and settings tabs, and it runs pretty smoothly. Usually between 18-20MB RAM free. This does tend to go down a bit with usage, but I tend to soft-reset daily, and its not really a problem.

been using pdaviet's V20 and it is really stable and fast. youtube does work and the few times i used it, manilla2d kept running in the background without affecting overall performance which doesn't happen when i run opera and big boss dumps manilla2d to get more ram. it's still one of the best roms i've come across so far and hoping to stick to it - even having to put up with an annoying bug on calendar app.
i might be wrong about this but i found the whole thing a lot faster when i decided to be honest with myself and disable some tabs from manilla2d, tabs that would make it look good and get friends wowing but not really worth keeping just for the sake of showing off. i've disabled weather, music and pictures. pictures cause if anyone starts fiddling with my phone and see my pics THAT would be something to be embarrassed about, for music i have my zune and for the weather, i can just look outside the window.

SlakerBoi said:
been using pdaviet's V20 and it is really stable and fast. youtube does work and the few times i used it, manilla2d kept running in the background without affecting overall performance which doesn't happen when i run opera and big boss dumps manilla2d to get more ram. it's still one of the best roms i've come across so far and hoping to stick to it - even having to put up with an annoying bug on calendar app.
i might be wrong about this but i found the whole thing a lot faster when i decided to be honest with myself and disable some tabs from manilla2d, tabs that would make it look good and get friends wowing but not really worth keeping just for the sake of showing off. i've disabled weather, music and pictures. pictures cause if anyone starts fiddling with my phone and see my pics THAT would be something to be embarrassed about, for music i have my zune and for the weather, i can just look outside the window.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the exact same deal running when I used M2D lol. But I've since ditched the whole 2D thing. I'm running PDACorner V27 and man it is faaast AND stable. M2D would crash way too often for my taste. In reality it was designed for the Kaiser/Tilt. Which is why not too many people on those forums have as many issues with it as we do. I remember I had the full 2D setup and I was running Opera and my Program mem usage was on 98% (about 2-3 MBs free). That's why I've decided to wait for the Fuze if I really want Manila.

When I try to update library from storage card it will start to adding files then stop. Any suggestions. It worked fine with another rom I was using.

thunda_chunky said:
I had the exact same deal running when I used M2D lol. But I've since ditched the whole 2D thing. I'm running PDACorner V27 and man it is faaast AND stable. M2D would crash way too often for my taste. In reality it was designed for the Kaiser/Tilt. Which is why not too many people on those forums have as many issues with it as we do. I remember I had the full 2D setup and I was running Opera and my Program mem usage was on 98% (about 2-3 MBs free). That's why I've decided to wait for the Fuze if I really want Manila.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i really have the same problem asa u, and now i do not deside to flash any ROM that had installed the M2D, & I like Spb Shell most, cause it is nice and stable

Which UI for Hermes

So, had my Hermes for several years now and tried many ROMs and UIs in that time.
Now we seem to have a two main choices for UI: Manila or Titanium.
I've found both of these UI's take up a lot of resources and they're buggy, especially the new fancy versions of Titanium and I'm having to soft-reset frequently which I find frustrating.
In order to get a cast iron, fast phone, I'm even considering flashing a modern ultralite ROM and putting HTC Home 2 on there.
Any other suggestions either as to:
1. A UI thats easy to install and doesn't take up masses of RAM
2. A ROM with a modern, none buggy version of Titanium/Manila which still have about 25M RAM?

i was using hermes for several months, bricked it and after several months i unbricked it. it is very usefull phone for me. but youre right. if i have to reset every here and there, its not a point.
recently i tested roms from lets say first 10 posts in this forum. tonight im going to install darkvisions 5.15 and add a few things that i miss. titanium launcher, i.e.
i hope that will satisfy me until i learn how to cook or untill somebody makes something better

No matter what the starter RAM is, open up the menu's and phone canvas and you're probably down by nearly 4M already.
Outlook and contacts seem pretty good, only about 1M for both.
Then Nimbuzz is a whopping 6M which is still better than running messenger and skype together.
Add on IE and its another 1.3 (not sure what opera is as my skills can't switch to mem usage without killing Opera )
So, for the basics its about 12-13M from the baseline
I've found TAI's version 14/15 pretty good so far around 23M free (with activesync running). Means, with my essential apps running, I'm around 10-11M free. Means I can still run Google maps, word etc ok.
It would be nice to have beautiful Manila or fancy Titanium (bug free) and about 20-23M free, just not found it yet. Any suggestions?

slowndes - I'm in the same place as you:
I'd got frustrated with my WM5 Hermes (SPV M3100) as Home2Pro and lovely community applets were rendering it slow, unstable and with poor battery life.
I tried several OEM ROMs and with/without custom ROMs on top; and then running Home2Pro. Certainly I get better performance with OEM ROM only.
But I now want PointSuite v2... And I think the "stripped" AT&T OEM ROM - used by many chefs - is still too "heavyweight" for my requirements. I'm still looking for a very light WM6.1 OEM.
And, after hours of hunting through these hallowed pages, I'm still looking.
Any ideas from anyone out there?

Since my last post, I'm downloading a couple of potential WM6.1 bare ROMs:
Black Satin - been around for a while now, but consistently good feedback;
CRC_r13.4_Naked_BigStorage - latest incarnation and offers a lot of space.
I'll road-test these over the coming few days, with Home2Pro and PointSense suite v2 on 'em; and I'll post my findings into this thread.

Oooo - installed CRC WM6.1 as per above; which, in its raw state, is a slick and sexy ROM.
And then I installed Home2Pro on top; plus my usual WiFi modem / Opera Mobile 9.7 / DinarSoft RAM optimisation applications.
(I've left off PointSense v2 Suite until 2.0.1.1 comes out - 2.0.0.4 has a few integrity issues it seems).
But I'm getting the lightning-fast speed and stability I've been looking for.
I am one very happy bunny. I recommend this. A lot.

I used to use whatever 6.1 ROM and install SBP mobile shell. Its pretty bulletproof, but not really that integrated into the phone, just a pretty surface.
I used Josh's SpringTime build pretty much for the entire summer, until I dropped my phone and the RED / GREEN buttons stopped working all the time. VERY WEIRD, but I decided to flash to FCW's new rom.
Its called Red Mist and its Build 23004.5.3.0 (according to the About screen). You can get it here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=509194
I also installed PdG TouchFLO 2D dialer. It REALLY helps when you have big fingers. I have mis-dialed since. You can get it here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=429179
I flashed the OEM Stripped rom first. I think it makes a difference.
My phone has not worked this well in a LONG time.

If you looking for WM 6.1 for me the most stable is faria.r32
now im with dark vision 5.0 the plathform is 6.5, but for 2 days i cant tell you nothing special about it just nice look, many apps

carcomp said:
I think it makes a difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You think well - it really makes a difference

I'm in the same position as the first Poster. Now I trying all the Complete-Roms, then the Light ROMs with SPB Mobile Shell, PointUI, Manilla, Homescreen++, Wisbar Adcance, ..., and then hopefully have another ROM for the next Years, as Schaps ROMs was for me in the past.
Trial and Error....

Is there a thread/wiki with a comparative of free RAM from various ROMs? The xda-wiki one is quite outdated. How about all of us post the free RAM after a clean install + customizations + reset?
I'll start off first:
CRC_r13.4-naked / 5.2.20270 / WM6.1 - 26.86 MB

slowndes said:
...Now we seem to have a two main choices for UI: Manila or Titanium....
1. A UI thats easy to install and doesn't take up masses of RAM
2. A ROM with a modern, none buggy version of Titanium/Manila which still have about 25M RAM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take also a look to other UIs which somtimes uses less memory:
Homescreen++ more Skins more Manilla Theme more more / Battery Status
ThrottleLauncher
UltimateLaunch
PointUI
iPhoneToday
...

the perfect rom

how should be the perfect rom?

I would appreciate knowing the reason the reason of your vote

The stock O2 6.1 rom is the only one I can reliably use that has the features I need.
Unfortunately, a lot of the custom roms disable things which can't then be added back later. All other roms I have tried run out of ram too quickly and require regular restarts. The Clean basic rom available here is maybe an exception to this.

After trying abt 15 roms, found that what exactly I like and need is combination between speed not loaded rom and couple of payed applications. It`s my taste

nrgxtra said:
After trying abt 15 roms, found that what exactly I like and need is combination between speed not loaded rom and couple of payed applications. It`s my taste
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which you voted?

my perfect rom would be 6.5.1 titanium that worked fast & didn't crash & cause hard resets on my phone, which all the 6.5.1s seem to do :/

harvester98 said:
which you voted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
6.1, to be exact nataly 2.7

littld said:
The stock O2 6.1 rom is the only one I can reliably use that has the features I need.
Unfortunately, a lot of the custom roms disable things which can't then be added back later. All other roms I have tried run out of ram too quickly and require regular restarts. The Clean basic rom available here is maybe an exception to this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What features are you speaking of?

1- A good ROM SHALL included TF3d. Diamond without TF3d is a ordinary boaring device, TF3d is the soul of Diamond. I never use ROMs without TF3d.
2- All ROMs including Windows Mobile 6.5 + TF3d are too RAM and battery consuming and seems Diamond's hardware not able to handle it.
3- TF3d 2.5 is really nice.
Conclusion:
The ROM I prefer shall be a fast and stable one based on WM6.1+ TF3d 2.5

dchegini said:
The ROM I prefer shall be a fast and stable one based on WM6.1+ TF3d 2.5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree with your comment, however as i heard yotgagz mentioned that TF3d 2.5 is running slow on Diamond. hope he can make it run smoother.

slovoflud said:
What features are you speaking of?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Transcriber is one. You can apply whatever cabs you like but it never works properly as compared with the built-in one. It's always first off the "unnecessary removed" list in custom roms but since you can't put it back you're stuck.
Another is the default way that rotation works. With Opera on the stock rom when I rotate the device the screen rotates as well. On the custom roms it doesn't. Unless I search for and download some obscure application I've never heard of and run it 25 seconds after every restart. Except on Tuesdays.

rom 6.5.1
it's true, that the touchflo is a must have application for the diamond, but more recently i use siemenslover's clean 6.5.1. rom, without manila or titanium, with the spb mobile shell 3.5 installed, and for now it's by far the best combo: great battery performance, nice and easy spb interface with widgets (very handy to use). Even with lot of sms and internet usage i don't have to be afraid of remaining without battery.

littld said:
Transcriber is one. You can apply whatever cabs you like but it never works properly as compared with the built-in one. It's always first off the "unnecessary removed" list in custom roms but since you can't put it back you're stuck.
Another is the default way that rotation works. With Opera on the stock rom when I rotate the device the screen rotates as well. On the custom roms it doesn't. Unless I search for and download some obscure application I've never heard of and run it 25 seconds after every restart. Except on Tuesdays.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh, ok I know what you mean
concerning Opera - it depends on the build - I always prefer a non rotating build. however, most of them do rotate.

I voted WM 6.5 + TF3d 2.5
TF3D2.1 Home screen is boring for me i prefer manila 2.5 with a Lite version of WM6.5.X or a clean ROM also WM6.5.X
Not to much preinstalled applications,tools and games but only required applications for running the device.
That would be the perfect for me.

energy leo m2.5 lite rom
ok im a fan of the new hd2 and here in australia we have not got it yet.. soo ive customised my rom to defalut manila leo 2.5 and wm default 6.5 and now have a perfect smaller version of hd2 on my htc diamond which im very happy with soo my vote is 6.5 + 2.5
NATAO

natao2nv said:
ok im a fan of the new hd2 and here in australia we have not got it yet.. soo ive customised my rom to defalut manila leo 2.5 and wm default 6.5 and now have a perfect smaller version of hd2 on my htc diamond which im very happy with soo my vote is 6.5 + 2.5
NATAO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is it fast and stable?

harvester98 said:
is it fast and stable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeh man its fast and stable i just installed all my extra apps to internal memory and ive fix all the bugs wid reg keys listed throughout rom post and yeh just love it
NATAO

The perfect rom would be WiMo 6.1 without Manila!
In my opinion TF3D is unusable crap, its slow and useless.
WiMo 6.5 is slow too and it got nothing which is worth to switch.

I'm actually coming back to TF3d after a year away from primarily because of the cooking going on in here.
I have 2 ideal ROMs at moment (never could make my mind up!). Both of which are still not quite there for my needs (but very close thanks to these wizard chefs).
1) WM6.5 with Manila 2.1
2) WM6.1 with Manila 2.5
Reasons:
As it stands I can't see how there can be enough usable RAM left with 6.5.x and Manila 2.5 for everyday usage. Would love to be proved wrong but that's how I see it. I do like the advancements in finger friendly usage but with 2.5 you need to get into the underlying Microsoft less and less.
I do like 6.5.1 but for an appointments and task focussed job then the standard Titanium is not enough and I find I am layering lots of SPB stuff on top.
Now when SPB get their as**s into gear and bring Diary out with full 6.5.1 compatibility and face lift this could be a real option for me.

Ho votato per la soluzione WM6.1 + TF3D2.5 perchè, secondo me, è un ottimo compromesso tra una rom veloce e graficamente accattivante.
Secondo la mia modesta opinione, l'hardware del Diamond non può far funzionare con una velocità decente le nuove rom 6.5....
I voted for the resolution WM6.1 + TF3D2.5 because, in my opinion, is a good compromise between a fast and visually appealing rom.
IMHO Diamond's hardware can not handle rapidly the new 6.5 roms....

Sense or WinMo Only?

Hi folks,
Got my TP2 to replace my Uni just over a month ago (I know the TP2 is an old phone now, but I could not upgrade until now, and its taken me 4 years to replace the Uni).
Anyway, I love the phone, but my god is so SLOWWWW and so BUGGY and just generally unreliable. Now on my Uni, I was running a Hybrid of 6.1/6.5 that I put on it last May, and it is awsome, its not 100% stable, but it certainly feels faster and is far more reliable than the TP2.
Anyway, i have been jumping backwards and forwards between Sense and Windows Mobile "today" screen, and the difference in just that seems remarkable.
When Sense is running, not only does it seem to be using about 25MB more RAM, but it suffers a hell of a lot of slowdowns, SOD instances, and generally, whilst it can be quite nippy at times, the amount of times it just hangs or is slow, makes the phone next to useless!! I have to restart it at least 4 times a day, sometimes even more. Messaging is almost unusable, and the amount of times I have felt like throwing the phone in the bin is unreal (and cant be healthy).
Now when I turn the Sense off (as much as you can, it still interferes with messaging etc and makes it run like a pile of poo) everything seems lightning fast with very few slowdowns, and certainly no massive halts in what it is doing. I can't recall the last time I had an SOD problem, and I have had the phone on for 2 days now and not a restart.
When you get into pure WinMo interfaces (not made to look nice by Sense) they are so smooth, scrolling is as responsive as the iPhone (which I hate but it makes my TP2 look like a piece of poo and im embarrassed by it to be frank because of the bugginess), it appears to be all the crap HTC have done to the phone that is causing the problems.
Now I need to change the ROM for a more stable one regardless of anything, and have been considering the Energy ROM for about a week (reading up on it, still not clear how to change the ROM, jeeze it was so much easier with the Uni). I was originally considering the Std Sense 2.5 version, but after reading the coment about the Cookie HomeTab being how Sense should have been designed, I was considering that instead.
After running WinMo without the main Sense interface on the phone however, and seeing it running a lot smoother, I have been reconsidering my decision.
I need this phone to run with as little in the way of hassle as problem, I dont want to be constantly fighting a losing battle to keep it stable and reliable, I dont want to be taking 10 minutes to type a text or use IE (I do use Opera Mini for most things, but like IE from time to time) just because the interface is slowing everything down. Do peeps think that the Energy ROM with the Cookie HomeTab interface is the way to go, or does it still have issues, and I should stick with a stock install of Windows Mobile and only Windows Mobile.
I appreaciate your thoughts... I can't believe how HTC can release a phone with such bugged up software as this and actually expect consumers to use it, imho, my phone is not even as stable as one would expect the software to be in BETA stages, nevermind as a public release. I work on the development team for TopUp TV in Europe (we deal with the propietary software that runs on all the set-top boxes) so I know what to expect from public software, and this is certainly not fit for use, and if this is the way HTC are going, then the TP2 will be the final HTC I ever buy (in fact if I can't get it stable, it will be on eBay and ill be back on my Uni).
Current phone info:
OS Version - 5.2.21887
Manilla Version - 2.5.20121225.0
ROM Version - 2.07.401.1 (80303)
ROM Date - 02/04/10
Radio Version - 4.49.25.91

Shame to hear you had such bad experience.
I´m quite happy with my Rhodium, which tweaked properly works great!
And I also have an Uni

If you're looking on step by step instructions there's a sticky in the ROM Dev forum called "Flashing your first rom" if you have a GSM version (looks like it based on radio version). That'll take you through the how.
Now if all you want is a fast, stable rom, i'd recommend staying away from Sense 2.5. The fastest, stablest Energy rom is going to be the Sense 2.1 running on the 21xxx branch (currently 21901). See my sig for a link to the thread. Once you start going into the 23xxx branch or Sense 2.5 you start piling on additional features which tie up more resources. It's a trade off of eye candy for speed.

While I agree that HTC's Sense is generally more trouble than it's worth, aside from increased memory usage and occasional stuttering, it works just fine for me. I simply prefer the default WinMo interfaces. And I do not think anyone likes HTC Messaging, that part is horribly bugged and slow.
There are many ROMs or variants of which that do not have any Sense components built in, I believe there is an Energy ROM that uses Titanium as the default shell.
I would suggest to you the Cosmik Debris ROM here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=608009
It is based on WinMo 6.1 so it will probably be familiar to what you were using on your Uni, and out of all the ROMs I've tried it seems to have the least amount of HTC software built in (there always seems to be some left, you will defiantly want to disable the HTC dialer).
If you do not mind the classic WinMo (pre-titanium) today screen, or plan on using a third party one such as Spb, I think 6.1 is a good way to go. I've not found any advantage at all to running 6.5 besides a startmenu that looks like it was just carpet bombed.

got no problems using Sense 2.5....if you dont like it, try Sense 2.1 which is hecka quicker than 2.5 just no Twitter tab....im only on Sense for the sake of twitter and the fact all info is there all in one piece

I'm with the OP... My Sprint Rhodium was working fairly well prior to my update to WinMo 6.5 (stock ROM)... Afterwards, the boot time was slow, sometimes Sense just wouldn't load at all. Going to any tab was initially, painfully slow. Loading apps was not TOO much slower than 6.1, but it was still leaving a lot to be desired. So about 4 days ago, I switched from Sense to the WinMo 6.5 default today screen.. BAM! Problems gone.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on HTC's Sense, I think it's great, the UI is awesome, it's just buggy... Perhaps there's some versions of the phone (think: manufacturing batches) that have issues with the newer software. Because OP is definitely not alone.
Sticking with WinMo's 6.5 Default - Mark

I just don't think the rhodium has the ram or the processor for sense 2.5. I gave up on sense a while ago. and even though 2.5 with cookie 1.8 is very nice looking, I'll take my custom cooked 23563 sys with 3.5.3 mobile shell on top. very fast and not buggy at all. everything works as it should.
since you have tried it with sense off, try the trial version of mobile shell or just stick with titanium. Some people are happier with that.
fyi, I have never had a SOD with sense not on my phone.

I second the previous poster's recommendation of SPB Mobile Shell 3.5.3. I've been using it since V2, and it's great. It only uses 4-6 MB of RAM. It's about as customizable as one could wish for right out of the box. As for ROM, I've been using Sergio76's Leo Cell Pro version 9.1 for a few days now, and I haven't had any hangs requiring restart or SOD. I've had SOD's without Sense, but that was only in the 23xxx branch. Serg's Pro series is on the 21xxx branch, the latest being 21901 in V 9.1. It's made of win and profit. Make sure you grab the one with no HTC Messaging or CHT.

Best combination stays the stock HTC 6.1 ROM with TouchFlo for me. The TouchFlo interface is very light on the hardware and looks smooth.
The newer Manilla 2.1 looks nice, but slows down here and there, together with WM6.5 it eats RAM!
I tried the Manilla 2.5, and it looks ugly (to me) with the big fat icons at the bottom together with allot of lag It's very noticeble that it's designed for the HD2, wich has allot more horsepower!
I like the fact that TouchFlo still keeps things finger-friendly ^^
Grtz,
FeareX

FeareX said:
Best combination stays the stock HTC 6.1 ROM with TouchFlo for me. The TouchFlo interface is very light on the hardware and looks smooth.
The newer Manilla 2.1 looks nice, but slows down here and there, together with WM6.5 it eats RAM!
I tried the Manilla 2.5, and it looks ugly (to me) with the big fat icons at the bottom together with allot of lag It's very noticeble that it's designed for the HD2, wich has allot more horsepower!
I like the fact that TouchFlo still keeps things finger-friendly ^^
Grtz,
FeareX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The bottom icons are not Sense 2.5; they are the newer version of WM6. I am using 2.5, and my start menu is in the upper left, not the lower left.

stevedebi said:
The bottom icons are not Sense 2.5; they are the newer version of WM6. I am using 2.5, and my start menu is in the upper left, not the lower left.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The new Sense 2.5 has those 3 big shortcut icons at the bottom (which turn to 9 when sliding up); that's likely what FeareX means.

ridolfo said:
The new Sense 2.5 has those 3 big shortcut icons at the bottom (which turn to 9 when sliding up); that's likely what FeareX means.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, is that Sense? I thought it was any WM 6 version with 6.5.x instead of just 6.5?
EDIT: Oh, the shortcut icons. I'm using Co0kies Home Tab, which has currently 25 shortcuts on 4 pages under my settings - 100 shortcuts. My ROM burned CHT into the mix and I've not used the "stock" sense 6.5.

stevedebi said:
Oh, is that Sense? I thought it was any WM 6 version with 6.5.x instead of just 6.5?
EDIT: Oh, the shortcut icons. I'm using Co0kies Home Tab, which has currently 25 shortcuts on 4 pages under my settings - 100 shortcuts. My ROM burned CHT into the mix and I've not used the "stock" sense 6.5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are confusing Sense, which is an HTC UI, with Windows Mobile, which is an operating system.
Sense UI comes in three different versions for our phone:
Sense 2.0 no eye candy, stock
Sense 2.1 colored slider, programs tab
Sense 2.5 Twitter, facebook tabs, quick launch icons on homepage
Then there is WM, which has too many versions for our phone:
WM 6.1
WM 6.5
WM 6.5.3
WM 6.5.5
Here is info about WM:
http://www.modaco.com/content/i9x0-...m/299717/com-branches-explained/#entry1153714

burtonsnow8 said:
You are confusing Sense, which is an HTC UI, with Windows Mobile, which is an operating system.
Sense UI comes in three different versions for our phone:
Sense 2.0 no eye candy, stock
Sense 2.1 colored slider, programs tab
Sense 2.5 Twitter, facebook tabs, quick launch icons on homepage
Then there is WM, which has too many versions for our phone:
WM 6.1
WM 6.5
WM 6.5.3
WM 6.5.5
Here is info about WM:
http://www.modaco.com/content/i9x0-...m/299717/com-branches-explained/#entry1153714
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I think the OP was the one confused.
I don't think the original author was talking about Sense. I'm assuming he has the large soft keys found in the newer WM, which has the taskbar on the bottom rather than the top. Mine is OS build 21x; the bottom taskbar is builds 23x. That is OS, not Sense. But it was actually a bit difficult to make out what the OP was having problems with.

stevedebi said:
Actually, I think the OP was the one confused.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not quite. He is saying with Sense UI loaded his phone is slow. Without Sense UI his phone is responsive but looks like crap.
I would suggest trying SPB mobile shell if you don't like Sense UI. Also titanium has some nice mods which can look good.

burtonsnow8 said:
Not quite. He is saying with Sense UI loaded his phone is slow. Without Sense UI his phone is responsive but looks like crap.
I would suggest trying SPB mobile shell if you don't like Sense UI. Also titanium has some nice mods which can look good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must be the only one left who thinks good old classic Windows Mobile today screen looks just fine.
Absolutely every piece of information you need on one screen in a simple functional list. Easily customizable as well.
It is a beautiful sight to see how quickly WinMo boots up without having to load Sense.

Thans for the all info folks, I have spent the past week or so plodding along with the standard WinMo interface, and considering my options, using the info in this thread a guide...
Anyway, I am pleased to say the slugishness and text messaging problems of the stock ROM even with Sense disabled got too much for me, and I ended up changing the ROM...
I took a risk and decided to throw a Sense ROM on to begin with, thinking what the hell, if it struggles, ill just change it as ill notice problems pretty quickly.
I went for the Leo Cell Evo 9.1 23562 running Windows Mobile 6.5.5 and Sense and WITHOUT the HTC Messaging crap that plagued the stock ROM... and so far, I have to say, I am extremely impressed, everything runs smooth and fast, with no crashing, no SOD (yet), no massive slowdowns or hangs, and Sense is at last a dream to use, it is working how it should be!!
I am absolutely made up with this ROM, but I am also appalled at HTC's decision to expect the stock ROM to be suitable for this phone, as its only really suitable for odd call every now and again (its a £400 smartphone ffs, people dont buy them for the odd call now and again).
The ROM totally puts HTC and their development team to shame, and they should be ashamed of themselves - I have emailed them to let them know of my complete disappointment with the phone compared to my old Uni (out of the box) as I felt it was not fit for purpose with the stock ROM installed, and have mentioned the fact I have changed to a custom XDAD ROM and finally have a phone that works as it should - but why should I have to do this, and how can they expect to sell these phones to people who are not so involved or interested in modding and ROM's etc (the TP2 is aimed solely at the business user as far as im concerned, indeed the conference calling features, and the fact only Vodafone Business sell it through their retail channel in the UK suggest this to me - I got it on o2, but from a 3rd party supplier, o2 themselves dont do the phone). A business user does not want a phone that gives them hassle, they simply want on that works and is productive, with the best efficiency and no problems.
Maybe its HTC's way of saying to the world "get over to Android and save us the license fee's for WinMo" because I can't honestly see why they would release such a flawwed product when the hardware itself is fine, when using a working ROM, which HTC are either unable to, or don't want to release.
Anyway, once again XDA Developers have come to the rescue, and a well earned donation will be going to the team behind the Leo Cell ROM's next week!!
THANK YOU!! :-D