Develop Bugs

Which ROM is running on your Desire... Please Vote

...Since the last Poll started a long time ago, I thought it would be nice to see whats the most favorite Rom on the market at the moment.
So please vote for your Rom and maybe describe your choice...

CyanogenMod Nightly here as my sig says.

oxygen rom
i prefer AOSP roms

Still the wrong forum, has nothing to do with Development....

Oxygen ROM. It's best for me.

karloe said:
Still the wrong forum, has nothing to do with Development....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would say it has to do with development in the aspect that we can see what roms are most used and that might help the developers deside what ppl want in there roms and maybe add some features that other roms have to there´s to get it more popular.
would also help new ppl decide what rom to take since they will prolly start with the one most ppl use couse that must be allround good and pretty general appealing also it gives a better oversight of what roms that there are.

I use Defrost now cause I like the AOSP Rom, but when I do use Sense, it's LeeDroid All the way..
Both are super stable, have almost all features people require, and if they dont, the dev's are usually able to include it within a couple releases. Also, both dev's spend alot of time interacting with the communities on the forums, which is a great sign of ANY rom!

My own Rom Based on the HTC Stock Froyo 2.10.405.2...

Many of us been using leedroid... I wish there's a leedroid version of non sense super fast stable rom... hope oxygen makes it perfect ^^ i love everything about non sense, but sense dialer is just owning...

I'm running LeeDroid 2.2f because for me, it's a good ratio of classic HTC Sense feeling to root and modding options. Or, to put it like this: It allows me to use all the good things about Sense without restricting me too much. Perfect for a user who, like me, is pretty new to Android.

My prerequisites are sense, UI close to stock, normal battery consumption, a2sd+ and UVOC.I have tried the following over the past couple of weeks:
Leedroid 2.2f- too much bloatware, monstrous battery consumption but the most reliable
dj droid 1.8 - closest to stock, has battery z mod, stable, doesn't have OC, a2sd doesn't function properly.
AuraXTSense 8.0- I'm sticking with this one, it is not bloated, a2sd+ works, fast. Clock with weather widget acts strange but working most of the time. I wouldn't call it unreliable but I managed to freeze it two times [email protected]
Cyanogen 6.0.2. - no sense.
Rom by ieftm - I was planning of sticking with this but it needs to get fixed. One time it installs properly, the other I'm in a boot loop. Changing between recoveries doesn't help here.
Hope this helps.
Sent from my Desire

I`m running CM 6.0.2 because i like Stock Android and it suits me fine...

I use Leedroid 2.2 f as Outlook sync is needed. It's very stable, fast and frugal with SetCPU and Juice Defender configured.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

I tried the rest but stuck to the best Leedroid wins hands down

Oxxxxxyyyyygggggeeeennnn FTW!
Really, it's a good AOSP ROM.

gotta be defrost, fast reliable, and always updates!

after having tried almost all roms here around now I'm still (more than a month) with Ox
latest beta (0.2.2) is very fast & stable

Running MyTouch 4G.. or Robociks other great roms. Works smooth and well.
Sent from my HTC MyTouch 4G using Tapatalk

I'm using LeeDroid, in part because it's close to what i was moving from and because i also sync with Outlook. I've not yet been brave enough to remove Sense completely, as i'm guessing the HTC sync will go with it.

originally i used sense roms and tried various others (had to go back to sense as aosp roms stuttered and were laggy in comparison for me with 7 full screens). now i go between open desire, oxygen and miui (but with zeam launcher).
really at this point, it's a toss up between the latter 2 - at least until gingerbread comes out

what ROM am i looking for?

so ive been thinking about rooting my phone. im gettign tired of seeing the "low disk space" icons and sometimes the lag is just annoying...
i just dont know what rom im looking for.
ive been looking at cyanogen and thinking about going with that but ive been reading theres problems with the wifi and other minor stuff. so i was hoping you guys could help me out.
im looking for a ROM thats fast, stable, and still syncs up with google cal and contacts and gmail and gtasks and etc. but i also want it to be reliable in terms of other things such as the alarm clock, bluetooth, wifi, gps and whatnot. i also want it to be compatible with google voice... also, i would like longer battery life while keeping adequate performance up. so many underclock while my screen is off and overclock while its on? (if there is such an option)
also, another question i had was if i flashed a vanilla ROM on, would i lose all my sense widgets? and if i do, is it hard to find good looking widgets without paying any money?
thanks.

You can backup your previous roms so if you don't like one you flashed you can go back. And Widgets are usually hard to find. I'd suggest cm6.1 or virtuous for a rom and either an invisiblek or Chad kernel that will give you great performance and good battery life. I hope that helps
Sent from my Incredible using XDA App

zithro said:
so ive been thinking about rooting my phone. im gettign tired of seeing the "low disk space" icons and sometimes the lag is just annoying...
<...>
also, another question i had was if i flashed a vanilla ROM on, would i lose all my sense widgets? and if i do, is it hard to find good looking widgets without paying any money?
thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, and no. You will lose all sense widgets, but you can find good free versions. I would start with Fancy Widget for clock.
My Rom Recommendation:
I am running CM 6.1 with B-SCM Splash of Red theme
and Ziggy471's latest kernel. But, a word of warning:
NEVER overclock past 1.19GHz on the Ziggy kernels. Most support going up to 1228000, but I've NEVER seen this work. No harm will be done usually (a brief stall followed by a reboot), but if you set this and then check Set On Boot, THEN you're in trouble.

Also always nandroid before flashing. Backups are your best friend.
alanthemanofchicago said:
Yes, and no. You will lose all sense widgets, but you can find good free versions. I would start with Fancy Widget for clock.
My Rom Recommendation:
I am running CM 6.1 with B-SCM Splash of Red theme
and Ziggy471's latest kernel. But, a word of warning:
NEVER overclock past 1.19GHz on the Ziggy kernels. Most support going up to 1228000, but I've NEVER seen this work. No harm will be done usually (a brief stall followed by a reboot), but if you set this and then check Set On Boot, THEN you're in trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Incredible using XDA App

Gahh Its Lee said:
Also always nandroid before flashing. Backups are your best friend.
Sent from my Incredible using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
O yeah. Also, a pointer about installing kernels and themes
0 Nandroid
1 Wipe Data / Factory Reset
2 Install ROM
3 Reboot, complete setup
4 Reboot to recovery, install kernel
5 Reboot, verify touch, WiFi
6 Reboot to Recovery, install theme (and Droid2 Keyboard, Bootanimations, etc.)
7 DONE! Exhale deeply.

does radio=kernel?

zithro said:
does radio=kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, the radio is something you can change to improve your signal and battery life. you need to have S-OFF (ie unrevoked forever) to do this through HBOOT. I wouldn't recommended it if you're not advanced because this is one of the few ways you could brick your phone. If you do decide to change it, make sure you do your research and don't rush it.
Although I'm using a source CM rom, source never really works 100% for our phones. Sense roms are the most compatible and best way to go for compatibility reasons. Try out "Uber Z" or the virtuous ROMs.

Here are some TIPS!
zithro said:
so ive been thinking about rooting my phone. im gettign tired of seeing the "low disk space" icons and sometimes the lag is just annoying...
i just dont know what rom im looking for.
ive been looking at cyanogen and thinking about going with that but ive been reading theres problems with the wifi and other minor stuff. so i was hoping you guys could help me out.
im looking for a ROM thats fast, stable, and still syncs up with google cal and contacts and gmail and gtasks and etc. but i also want it to be reliable in terms of other things such as the alarm clock, bluetooth, wifi, gps and whatnot. i also want it to be compatible with google voice... also, i would like longer battery life while keeping adequate performance up. so many underclock while my screen is off and overclock while its on? (if there is such an option)
also, another question i had was if i flashed a vanilla ROM on, would i lose all my sense widgets? and if i do, is it hard to find good looking widgets without paying any money?
thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best ASOP roms that i have tried are Cyanogenmod 6.1 and Skyraider Athena 1.2. These roms are both available in the ROM manager app. Both of the roms are very fast with almost no bugs, Although they will not give you the best battery life. With that being said you can still change the kernel as long it is an ASOP kernel.
As far as sense roms i like Virtuous rom and almost any Desire Z rom. The rom i am using ATM is Uber Z. This is a very nice and stable rom.
If you want something that looks totaly different than android i would go with MIUI. This is a great rom with great battery life. keep in mind it is sort of based off of apple's IOS.

[Q] A Crapload Of Questions

So yeah, I have a crapload of questions.
I recently asked about rooting and keeping HTC Sense. In retrospect, I don't think I'll need Sense, I just tried out AppLauncher, and I have to say, I think I'm sold on it. I'm just wondering what exactly HTC Sense has? Is there anything it has that I'll really miss? So far the only thing I can think of is the HTC Sense website for a lost phone, backing up data, and the weather widget/FriendStream...though adding Facebook to HTC sense shows all my contacts in the Phone button which is a huge piss off, but meh.
So that being said, I think I'm about ready to give rooting a shot, but now I've been confused with even more things. And the more I read the more I get confused. Especially where I have to downgrade the firmware, I'm wondering if it's still okay to do this, since the guy at Bell told me if I didn't do / get certain updates I'd have to send my phone back to HTC for repair.
There's stock Android, Cyanogen, and it seems like a million other ROMs. Which is the best to use? If I want total customizability, but also good functionality?
Finally, I'm using a Bell-branded Desire Z on the the Bell network. So Whatever I do will need to work okay with it.
As I've said, I'm totally new to this, and I'm scared to hell of bricking my phone since I just signed a contract and don't to shell out $500 bucks for a new one.
There's just so much info on this forum and it's a bit overwhelming/confusing, not that a lot of info is a bad thing, I'm just lost lol.
EDIT: If anything I wrote seems too rambling or doesn't make much sense please specify that and I'll clarify it.

cant help you root your phone but just follow the instructions that the person who writes the threads say. It's not that easy to brick your phone unless you just completely dont follow directions.
1. Downgrade is perfectly fine, it's to allow you to use a certain method to root your phone.
2. Try out different roms to see what you like, it's like asking whats your favorite video game, how can you really choose, some will agree some wont. I personally like the Miui roms which is the iphonelike and android UI mashup. the apps built in are nice on the eyes, the physics of the phones movement is very smooth, it can oc to 1.5ghz, and you can just download a launcher to replace the original if you dont like it.
3. ask the dev's on the thread if your not sure. i have no idea about bell, but it would seem that it shouldnt have any affect on rooting your phone, just maybe the radio but that is different then rooting or flashing roms.
P.S. you might miss the small things from Sense like, it looks nice, turns on fast, widgets, the dialer to search contact, incoming calls doesnt disrupt navigation, and it's original live wallpaper lol.

So are you saying that I can't search by contact in the default phone app? That kind of sucks.
I guess more of what I'm asking is just based on people's experiences what the best route to go is. I know there are different tastes, I'm more concerned about reliability, so I'm sure people could help with a ROM choice with that criteria.
So downgrading firmware won't affect phone performance? And can it still be reverted to stock in case the phone needs warranty repair? Just trying to cover all my bases.
And thanks, I'll ask around in the deg thread.

Bloodlvst said:
So are you saying that I can't search by contact in the default phone app? That kind of sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are usually apps available that provide Sense functionality to non-Sense ROMs. In regards to the above, you can try DialerOne.

To help you with the ROMs think of them in terms of how different Linux OS's are setup (if you know a bit about this).
You have the base OS's such as Cyanogen. Now some one doesn't like the look of that so they change the Frameworkres.apk to give it defferent colors, transparencies, icons and so on. Now they want a few extra apps to be included in the install so they add them to the /system/app directory or add a /data directory. Repackage it and now they have a custom OS called WINNING ROM (or whatever). These are easy to do and can be completed in a matter of minutes since there aren't any big alterations in the base coding of the OS. This is why you see a lot of ROMs that look like Cyanogens and the developer usually (and should be) states what version of some one elses ROM it's based off of.
Then you have ROMs that tweak certain parameters for speed or add other functionalities to a ROM such as a custom kernel, audio/video codecs, a2ext, compcache/linux swap, and others. Plus a complete custom UI (launcher), port parts of other ROMs such as Sense to work on their ROM, and toms of other things. These take days, weeks, or even months and usually have release cycles and updates. Cyanogen, Virtuous, Enomther, Villain, and a few others make up these ROMs.
Hope that helps with your ROM quest. It can be a bit overwhelming but remember to ask, ask, ask, and then ask some more and also read, at least the OP (original post) and a few pages past that. Some people may get upset and flame you for it but most will be glad to help in any way.

If you flash a non-Sense ROM, you will miss the HTC camera app. Its far and away better than the stock Android one, and I haven't found any Market camera apps that measure up, either. Also, the camera button on the Sense builds seems much more responsive than on CM7.
Also, I'm not sure about this, but the Sense ROMs seem to have better or more hardware codecs for playing a wider array of video formats. Lots of the videos I've tried on CM7 and CM6 are only playable using software decoding (on a variety of players, but RockPlayer is my favorite) and end up super laggy (very low frame rate) and audio way out of sync. On stock Sense and Virtuous, those videos play fine, hardware decoding, silky smooth, and audio in sync.
There are some aesthetic stuff, like HTC does some pretty significant theme changes for Sense, and you will lose customizations like the HTC Skins. And you will lose the HTC widgets (like the clocks) and apps (stocks, weather). But as mentioned, there are lots of Market apps that pretty well simulate many of the Sense apps and widgets, or are very suitable replacements.

Thanks for the detailed replies guys.
KCRic, thanks for list of known ROMs that's basically what I wanted to know, and your Linux flavour comparison helped too
Redpoint, I'm not sure how often I'd ever use the camera anyway...when I get home I'll have to find some screens of the default camera. That being said, I see your ROM is Virtuous. Is that a Sense-like ROM in case I agree with you on the ca?era app?
Thanks!

Bloodlvst said:
Redpoint, I'm not sure how often I'd ever use the camera anyway...when I get home I'll have to find some screens of the default camera. That being said, I see your ROM is Virtuous. Is that a Sense-like ROM in case I agree with you on the ca?era app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, you don't use the camera? I use it all the time, for those "spur of the moment" snapshots, or to quickly take a pic that I can MMS to a friend or family.
Yes, Virtuous is mostly stock Sense, but with some optimizations and with some extra features added. Its also based on the 1.85 ROM, one of the more recent stock Sense versions.
Guides, links for just about everything you can ever think of is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916431
BTW, be sure to click the "Thanks" button if you found responses to be helpful!

ROM LIST
Sense ROMS
Gingerbread - Android 2.3
Shokouhi 2.0
Desire S G2 Port Sense2.1
Probably others.
Froyo - Android 2.2
Virtuous
Stock ROMS
Gingerbread - Android 2.3
CyanogenMod 7
Stock Gingerbread 1.7
iceandfire 1.7
Pyromod 1.2
GingerVillian 1.5
meXdroidMod
Froyo - Android 2.2
CyanogenMod 6
Others of unimportance now.
The Other ROMS
Gingerbread - Android 2.3
MIUI (The 2.3 one)
Froyo - Android 2.2
MIUI (The 2.2 one)
LiquidVillian (Or whatever it was called.)
I probably just wasted 10 minutes of my life doing this, but meh, it was something to do.
Now to kill myself since I had to listen to Nickelback through it. Damn 4Music.

I would hardly call CM7 (and ROMs based on it) "Stock".
Although "Non-Sense" is not a very good sounding name for that category, also.

redpoint73 said:
I would hardly call CM7 (and ROMs based on it) "Stock".
Although "Non-Sense" is not a very good sounding name for that category, also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOSP Based.
There should be 2 categories. CM Based and AOSP.
But I don't think there are any AOSP ROMs. Which I hate, cos when people say they've built a stock ROM, but it's based on CyanogenMod.

redpoint73 said:
Wow, you don't use the camera? I use it all the time, for those "spur of the moment" snapshots, or to quickly take a pic that I can MMS to a friend or family.
Yes, Virtuous is mostly stock Sense, but with some optimizations and with some extra features added. Its also based on the 1.85 ROM, one of the more recent stock Sense versions.
Guides, links for just about everything you can ever think of is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916431
BTW, be sure to click the "Thanks" button if you found responses to be helpful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I'm guessing no one has cooked up a weird ROM that is like Cyanogen with the Sense camera app lol.
Anywho, I really only have a couple of questions now.
Would you recommend Gingerbread or Froyo? I'm guessing Gingerbread probably runs better / is better than Froyo, but it's hard to say.
Also, how easy is it to restore my phone to factory condition if I need to?
And finally, I read the wiki, it says to make sure I have the windows USB drivers installed...do I just throw those in my windows drivers folder?
EDIT: Wanted to add, the instructiosn for recovering to stock doesn't include the version. So any help there is appreciated.
Or you know, if any of you would be so kind to PM me / add me to IM if you've done this on a Bell phone in Canada that would be awesome too

The drivers go in your Android SDK folder, where ever adb resides. At least on XP and Vista that's the case - I'm not sure if the adb issue was ever resolved in Windows 7. You could always use VM linux or dual boot linux if you like, it's much easier imo. Wubi works too I think.
When it comes to Froyo vs. Gingerbread it's literally like a linux in the sense that one is completely stable and well known by this point (Froyo) an the other is bleeding edge, not stable at times, some things are just not compatible unless you port them, and peoples knowledge base on it isn't as thorough.
I've never returned this phone to stock, which I assume you mean s-on and no superuser permissions. So I have no idea how difficult it is, though I do know you need to make sure you 100% know what you're doing before attempting it - especially if you have s-off. It's a pandoras box if you mess it up.

Ah okay, I'll definitely stick with Froyo for now then. I've always stayed 1 version behidn with Fedora lol.
I did get the drivers working, made my gold card, about to downgrade my firmware.
Are the instructions the same for 1.84.666.2 ?
Edit: Successfully rooted. Now time to find a new ROM. thanks again for all the help. Quesiton though, I have no HSDPA icon anymore...do I need a new "radio" or something?

No, it will do that and some ROMs don't have either the 'H' or the 3G' icon - just depends on the developer. You can still flash a different radio - anyone listed in the G2 radio sticky will work, flash a few and see what works best for you.
There's also a radio version/.ril file issue being debated so you might check that thread too and flash the zip provided just to be safe. I think it's in the G2 questions forum but I can't remember.

[Q] Whats the best custom ROM ay the moment?

Hi.
Quite new to all this, managed to root and install a new custom ROM on my phone yesterday (took me 8hrs all together)
after alot of reading and help from other members i decided to go for the ARHD ROM.
Is this a good choice? i know alot about computer programing, but Phones are new to me, im enjoying learning about my DHD
is this a good ROM, or are there better I realise that its down to personal preferance, but is this an up to date ROM.
Cheers,
Jamie

There is no best rom.Best rom for one user is maybe the worst for some other.Try couple of custom roms and decide which suits you best.

Darius_III said:
There is no best rom.Best rom for one user is maybe the worst for some other.Try couple of custom roms and decide which suits you best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is so true.. Just try other roms, and find which one suits your liking..

Also is there anyway to back up my home screen, and other screens settings with the widgets etc and all my app settings so i can just recover them back onto any new rom i install. it takes me hours to do this ater a factory reset or installing a new rom?
Cheers.

Jamie.Desire.HD said:
Also is there anyway to back up my home screen, and other screens settings with the widgets etc and all my app settings so i can just recover them back onto any new rom i install. it takes me hours to do this ater a factory reset or installing a new rom?
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use titanium back up for apps and settings. Never back up system data. Widgets can't be backed up unless the launcher has a backup setting.

Jamie.Desire.HD said:
Also is there anyway to back up my home screen, and other screens settings with the widgets etc and all my app settings so i can just recover them back onto any new rom i install. it takes me hours to do this ater a factory reset or installing a new rom?
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not think it is better idea to back up your home/screen settings to use it across different ROMs. There is high chance that you will experience weird issues (every ROMs devs request to make a clean install if coming from other ROMs, importing backups would not make it clean anymore ).
As for the ROM, i think ARHD is a clever choice (i have settled to it after trying out all of the ROMs but RCMIX) if you want sense (or no-sense).

What if I asked you about the fastest ROM? I'm currently using LeeDroid bu I noticed that an OLDER Nexus One is much faster regarding the system. My only advantage is SuperFast IO and a bit faster 3D. CPU, even though it's set to 1,8 GHz Smoothass, is only half as efficient as the older 800MHz CPU in Nexus One.I read somewhere that it's a matter of picking a proper ROM, so which one would you suggest to me if I asked only for speed and responsiveness, and maybe battery life. Any Sense ROM is obviously out, but the problem is that I never used any other custom ROM. I would also like to retain my 2 way recording ability.

I used many roms, for me,
the best sense 2.1 rom is ARHD
best sense 3 rom is Virtuous Unity
ARHD is flawless and fast
VU has sense 3 but it has minor issues like Dolby is missing in music app. and its kernel doesnt have 2way recording support...
But i am stiil using VU with Lee s kernel

thanks, although Sense is not crucial, what I want is that my phone works as fast as possible and e'thing works as it should. I'm thinking about CM7 latest 7.1.0 RC1. People say camera is crappy but it can be changed.

I'd say give MIUI a try. It's really fast (faster then cm7 imo) and beautyful if you find the right theme in their theme manager
Furthermore it has way more features than cm7 but it isn't bloated like sense
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

Flussen said:
I'd say give MIUI a try. It's really fast (faster then cm7 imo) and beautyful if you find the right theme in their theme manager
Furthermore it has way more features than cm7 but it isn't bloated like sense
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only drawback is it makes your phone look and behave like an iPhone, I'd recommend Hydr0G3nMOD it's cm7 based but with some trimming and tweaking and fly's and it's a massive ~72mb! download so that should tell you something about the bloat.

First ROM ever ... Absolution?

I want to flash my first ROM ever and ive been trying to read a bit and decide on the most appropriate ROM for me. I want something fast and with a good battery life and from what Ive been reading Absolution seems to offer both these things really well. One thing I dont think im willing to give up right now however is the ability to sync facebook images and information onto my contacts. Do Absolution and other Cyanogen based ROMS allow us to do that? Any one with any other suggestions that you think may be easier for me to handle for a first ROM? Also, is there a way for me to backup my current stock rooted ROM so I go back to it in case I dont like CM?

If you want cyanogenmod based ROMs, for me blackICE ROM is the best by far.
If you want to stick to official releases for our DHD, Android Revolution or wait for LeeDroiD to update his ROM
If your want sense 3.5, in my opinion SmartDroiD is my ROM of choice,it really is the best ROM I've ever used, but there is ER3BUS ROM and RcMiX Runny. Currently I'm on ER3BUS as I wanted to test it and I've ended up loosing my USB cable so I'm stuck atm but I will be returning to SmartDroiD soon as I can.
Sent from my ER3BUS Desire HD..

wilkyyyy said:
If you want cyanogenmod based ROMs, for me blackICE ROM is the best by far.
If you want to stick to official releases for our DHD, Android Revolution or wait for LeeDroiD to update his ROM
If your want sense 3.5, in my opinion SmartDroiD is my ROM of choice,it really is the best ROM I've ever used, but there is ER3BUS ROM and RcMiX Runny. Currently I'm on ER3BUS as I wanted to test it and I've ended up loosing my USB cable so I'm stuck atm but I will be returning to SmartDroiD soon as I can.
Sent from my ER3BUS Desire HD..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, just thinking out of the box here.why not just download the ROM on your phones browser and then flash it? I've had a desire for 2 years and think out of the 1000 times I've flashed, only 3-5 of those roms was put on there from my computer..

Nagelzz said:
Lol, just thinking out of the box here.why not just download the ROM on your phones browser and then flash it? I've had a desire for 2 years and think out of the 1000 times I've flashed, only 3-5 of those roms was put on there from my computer..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah as said,flash all of them,runny is the best at current but as you can tell its individual loves
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

Yea, when you first install a custom ROM after making your choice, obviously you will have clockwordmod recovery on the phone. From here you can do backups (referred to as nandroid backups) you can also initiate this from ROM manager.
Good luck intrepid Modder.
Also my recommendations are
Sense - Android Revolution HD. It's stock Sense look and feel with good battery life and amazing support, practically 24hour.
AOSP - CM7 - Again amazing support and a great experience. It can link your FB profile pics, but don't expect and decent resolution.
Bleeding Edge - LC ICS Beta 4.5 - Great if you want to try the new flavour of Android but really not for the new modder.

Thanks a lot for the help guys. Knowing that I can back up my stock rom is particularly comforting. Im hoping il have enough time this weekend to get around to doing this. By then Il make sure to look around for some videos of each of those ROMs in order to better choose my first

I feel that Absolution and Blackice are roughly on par with each other, and both are excellent. I'm very curious about Wilkyyy's reasoning...
If your only serious criteria are speed and battery life, the Oxygen 2.3.2 port can't be beaten IMHO. It has far fewer "options" than the former two ROMs though, and there is no CM7-style theming. If you use an alternate launcher like Go, though, then this isn't really an issue or even very relevant.

BenRoark said:
. this isn't really an issue or even very relevant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's possibly one of the funniest things I have read on here for a while

I actually am using golauncher right now and am loving it. In that case you would recomend the oxygen ROM?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

oik01 said:
I actually am using golauncher right now and am loving it. In that case you would recomend the oxygen ROM?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everyone will tell you what they think is the best rom out there. It is all a matter of opinion and taste. I would suggest watching the threads and see which ones are up to date with features that are appealing to you and try them each out for a few days/hours/minutes etc until you settle into one that makes you happy. There are tons of quality roms and many that are inactive as far as development too. Just be sure to back up your go to or stock rom before experimenting.

i would say virtuous affinity-v1.48.0 its fast and dont use much battery
i think you can use mybackup pro to backup your stock rom
but i think you need to root it first

Don't think twice, perfect ROM for DHD is Android Revolution HD™ 6.3.1.

wbbigdave said:
That's possibly one of the funniest things I have read on here for a while
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How's that, chief? You can use launcher themes to change the look of your phone interface, if you're really "into" that kind of thing. Yeah, sure, your settings menu won't change, but if you're gonna lose sleep over that, then your problems run much deeper in my opinion.
Another alternative for Oxygen is the kitchen, which has already been done by at least one user.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

oik01 said:
I actually am using golauncher right now and am loving it. In that case you would recomend the oxygen ROM?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you should try a whole bunch of them. Absolution is awesome IMHO.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Android Revolution and Absolution are my two favorites... Can't go wrong with either and you get a mix of flavors, Sense (ARHD) and CM7 based (Absolution). I randomly switch between these two but Absolution has more development and updates happening than does ARHD.

thanks i tried absolution ... amazing but the one true downfall has been horrible wifi ... will try a new radio and see if that fixes things though
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA