amateur/newbie in need of help thred - Touch HD Themes and Apps

Hi guys, ive had my touch hd 3 days now and ive been riducled by everyone that i didnt go for a iphone, however ive spent alot of time on here and its plain to see that so much can be done and be added!
Now i gotta confess i dont know what a CAB file is, i dont know what ROM is, i dont know what this manilla is, so i hope you can see my probs!
During my 3 days ive managed to download the blackpad dialler and the hd tweak(altho they took me ages), but i wanna change the theme, the wallpapers, i wanna add apps like google maps etc..
I hope this thread will attract people who can help people like myself out and explain how to do stuff and where to go etc..
Btw how do i choose a downloaded song(synced via windows media) to be my ringtone? haha such a amateur!
Thank you for any help in advance!

have you read the wiki? that will help allot, helped me 2.

the wiki??? lol

a .cab is an install file you copy to your phone and then tap it to execute from like file explorer. most installs if they are exe you run them on you PC and they send a cab file to you phone through activesync. but if its a cab file just copy to you phone and execute. If you dont like it yoou can uninstall from eith the phone in Settings/System/Remove Program.. or from you PC on activesynce or mobile device center.

Where on the phone is file explorer? but thanx for the rest, actually makes sense, god im blonde!

where can i read about this wiki?

Its in programs.
Honestly, I would reccomend you go through your phone. Go into programs and see whats there. Then go into each of the settings options and see whats there.
Then learn the hierarchy of your phone memory.
You will see that it is similar to Windows.
The top directory will be"My Device" and under it will be "Storage Card" which is your memory card (similar to an external hard drive analogy for a desktop) and then you will see Program Files where programs are installed and My Documents contains the following folders and more:
My Videos where you videos you record will be saved
My Pictures

This is the wiki page - it's VERY helpful: http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Blackstone
And, the software wiki is here: http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Software

You chose well. The Blackstone is an amazing bit of kit!
Keep in mind that it's basically a small computer with an aerial. Unlike the iPhone its not just a fancy phone.
Any computer needs a way for the user to tell it what to do... thats the operating system in the blackstone that's windows mobile (or winmo). You also need a user interface (ui) so you can tell it what to do. The HD uses touchflo 3d (tf3d). That's the front screen with all the tabs and clocks and stuff.
Like any computer... programs are installed to do different things. The dialers, sms, camera are all programs. This means you can install new programs to do things or overwrite programs to change what you already have.
These programs come in two main forms the cab file and the exe. The cab runs only on the phone and the exe will only run on the phone or your computer. There are lots of cabs to do lots of things. Download one that's interesting and run it.
Everything is stored in files on your blackstone. You can look through these files using file explorer... you will find that in your programs tab on tf3d. files are stored in folders. that means you can organise them the way you like.
The secret to the blackstone is to think about what you'd like to be able to do with it then search here or google to find a way... there usually is one.

Related

How to manage RAM without a new ROM?

My Wallaby (with Windows PPC 2002) is too central to my life for me to risk losing it by daring to flash it with a new ROM. This means that new tools, ringtones and things have to go into its mere 32 MB of RAM. On the other hand, this RAM is also cluttered up with "skins", sounds and things (including a version of Windows Media Player that has always resolutely refused to work) that Microsoft, HTC et al. have decided I must have. Mostly if I try to delete them, either using its native File Explorer, or via the cradle with Explorer from my computer (Windows XP Pro SP2, local adminstrator account on the PC), I get an error message, "File in use or write protected", that sort of thing, i.e. I'm not allowed to delete them.
Can anyone help me with the following?
- An explorer tool which will let me see and change attributes and permissions where necessary, and delete unwanted files from RAM?
- Any information on possible Windows PPC 2002 equivalents of accounts, local, administrator, etc.? My unsuccesful attempts to delete files have a distinctly "not local administrator" feel.
Another thing that would be marvellous, would be the option to use the (currently 128 MB) SD card as a sort of hard drive, i.e. to put large executables on to that and start them with something like a shortcut, so that they only load into RAM when they're actually needed. Can anyone tell me any more about whether this is possible, and if so how?
Thanks to all in advance.
you cant delete files in rom of the device and even if you could it would not add more program memory or storage on wallay you can only access the rom at flashtime
and at all other times it's readonly and dont take up any of the ram of your device
Thanks for your reply, Rudegar, but I'm looking to delete things from RAM, for instance \\device\program files\windows media player\*.* Am I wrong to think all this stuff loaded from ROM into RAM after the last cold reset?
Oops, I just discovered I can delete the files mentioned above (and did), from the native File Explorer. However, when I tap and hold \\device\windows\player (the media player executable, presumably player.exe) the "delete" option is greyed out in the context menu.
total commander is way better then file explore
I installed Total Commander, with thanks to Rudegar, and to Lumpistefan for being able to use his site as a hop. It's certainly a better tool for file management, but I'm not yet able to delete files I want to.
Roaring guitar.wav is a sound I particularly hate, and a colleague at work is already using it as his ringtone. Therefore there is no way I want to keep that ringtone in RAM. Total Commander lets me see the attributes, which are Read only, System (and in ROM, grey of course). It seems as if I can "greytick" and untick Read only and System, but when I come back to the file these attributes are there again. If I try to delete Roaring guitar.wav using Total Commander I get the message "Warning! Could not delete 1 file(s)!".
As I said, all this has a very "not local administrator" feel to it.
I tried searching the registry for "roaring" but the string was not found. I also cautiously experimented with switching the values of the following keys between 0 and 1:
HKLM\ControlPanel\AdminPassword\Group
HKLM\ControlPanel\Password\Group
but neither had any discernible effect on the behaviour described. Of course Roaring guitar.wav is just an example (and no offence meant to my colleague), I would like to remove a number of sounds and wallpapers I'll never use, and free up some more of my poor Wallaby's hard-pressed 32 MB RAM for everyday use.
Does anyone know how I could do it?
Hate to tell you this, but if TC says the file is in ROM, its in ROM and you can not delete it.
I am not familiar with Wallaby in particular but I guess the file your are attacking is not copied in to RAM. No reason to do so.
Windows Mobile was never designed for multiple users so no 'local / remote' administrator and stuff. Just trust me when I say this, if you can't delete it - it is in ROM.
There are two programs I can recommend:
MemMaid - it will show you exactly what is clogging up your RAM and automatically clean out what it can.
CabInstl - this little free app will let you choose where to install programs so you can put most of your apps on the SD.
Also in ActiveSync, when asked if to install to default location select 'NO' and you will get an option to install to SD.
One more hint:
You can keep all your themes, including the one you are currently using on the SD. Once you selected and installed the theme the *.tsk file is no longer needed.
When my iPaq was my only and primary PPC I also struggled with 32MB RAM (total). I kept everything on my trusty 512MB SunDisk except what I needed on startup.

Can I change properties for my windows folder????

My goal is to reach in too my windows folder and delete all the unnecessary file copied to my windows directory....I was just wondering if I could remove the rom and read only properties of the folder!!!
I guess no one wants to offer me any guidance then......If this is information u wish to not make publicaly available can someone please pm me to point me in the right direction
If the files are in the ROM, there is no way of deleting them. Else, you can try Total Commander to do the job you mentioned.
Your best bet is to edit the ROM before it goes onto your phone.
I'd suggest either Pandora (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=316881) or Core Pro (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=309701&highlight=core+pro) as your best starting points.
Anything with the propery of being 'in ROM' will still be uneditable though, so any files wich you can't avoid having to install will remain 'locked' (although, by definition, any files you absolutely can't avoid having shouldn't be deleted anyway, if you see what I mean).
The whole problem is that even after installing all my programs to my storage it places tons of unneeded file in my windows folder....I Keep a tidy file system but windows folder has 103mb of data in it.....I finally have my device setup the way I like it after flashing a different rom everyother day...What options will total commander give me over resco explorer???
Total Commander won't give you any extra options, it's just that it is free compared to Resco. If you're really deadset on cleaning up your windows folder and want to keep your same setup that you have now, you need to "dump" the ROM and edit it on your PC. Look in the wiki under "Research and Technical Stuff" to find out how to do all that.
okay I guess I can try that even though that seems excessive.....is there anyway that when I cook a rom that I can remove the in rom status????
just watch what u do. some files u think are not needed are. best thing is to take a current rom and figure out what file belongs to what and delete whats not needed or cook a rom without the things u need. again pandora is a great option.
Not really, not as far as I know anyway. I'm pretty sure that anything which is there on first boot at the last moment before the OS starts to set the phone up is unremovable except by flashing.
The only other option I can think of is to unlock the EXTROM in case you've got some unnecessary apps being popped into Windows from it on first boot, cabs like ClearVue or suchlike extraneous stuff. If that's still being used when your hard reset your phone there may be a fair few meg you can prevent being nicked.
Thanks alot guy for the advice!!! I love this place I spend quite a bit of my time at work on here!! I will try the things above and see if they do the trick.....

[Question] how to make a cab file out of a desktop installer?

I have tried to find some things on how to, tutorials and so on but i cant find anything that has given me success, some of my must have apps are installed from the computer, and id want to see if i can just make them into a cab instead and just have them on the memory card for comfort and when flashing on the go from sd it is annoying not being able to have the "must have" app.
any help would be deeply appreciated and i would be most grateful.
if this is done in ten sec to a minute i added one of the desktop installers if some one would be so very kind to help me
http://www.e-sword.net/pocketpc/files/ppc2005setup301.exe
Thank you very much.
ps: another noob question, the program named ppc2005setup301 it runs in vga, and since most rom are qvga if i understand it right the program buttons are shrinked? it is usable but you got to be exakt with the stylys to hit them, kinda hard on the bus or subway if anyone could help me with that one id kiss ya!
Peace and a lot of love to you all!
Can you not just extract the cab using win rar?
Easiest way is to run the installer with your phone disconnected. Then go into the microsoft active sync folder in program files and you should be able to find the cab in a folder in there. I've done this several times to set up a back up folder on my sd card (just in case)

Any APPS FOR Touch HD ?

any body have apps for touch hd like iphone?help..............
Hi there,
it depends really... what kind of apps are you looking for exactly?
Even though it is limited at the moment, have you tried going to Windows Marketplace apps store? some free apps there...
HDtweak is a must - Lets you fine tune many settings on the device. To install, just copy the cab file over to your phone when connected to your PC and run them like an .exe file from the file manager. Some are exe files. These will run on your PC and install onto your phone when connected by Activesync.
You can try his link also: http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/
Other than that, I would suggest you search the forum/google if you are in search of specific apps.
Regards.

[TOOL???] Potential Backup Settings Tool

Firstly let me say, Thanks for taking the time to read my post.
I don't know about y'all, but, i kinda get a little fed up of re-entering all my settings after each flash, wouldn't it be nice if someone developed either a script or app that backed up email, sound, wallpaper, visual style's and just about everything else into a cab or xml file?
Well i have searched the forums and have come up with nothing so far!!!
Now... I haven't looked into this in great detail, but, i have written many a script and such for Desktop Windows that when run create a backup copy of documents and certain registry settings then reboot into PE (in a separate partition) format, reinstall windows and applications and then re-apply settings and files (see http://www.msfn.org/board/forum.html search for my username for confirmation)
I know that Windows Mobile and Desktop are very different, but, i feel confident that i can accomplish the same results (with the help of ROM Chefs and other apps already written)
My Goal... To write an app/script that when run, backs up various registry keys/values and/or files and saves to either a .cab or .xml file in a UC folder stored on a memory card and if a RHODIMG.nbh file is present then will reboot the phone into bootloader mode and install the new ROM (this is where ROM Chefs need to come together and become uniform) if it isn't present and is connected to a pc asks for the location of a ROM and copies it to the memory card (renaming if needed)
Problems... Unlike Windows Desktop there are so many different things that i have to account for EG: Each Chef has their own style and preference, i CANNOT create an automated backup for every chef (nor can i be biased) so to start i will choose my own way and if chefs/developers want to jump in and help then perhaps we can create something with template files to suit, i don't want to sway anyone or anything and I have tried many, many ROM's (have never created a ROM so i dare not criticize, but, more often than not, my preference has been NRG's and that's where i will start...) as such i will have to look into the main core of ROM's to see what is available on MOST ROMS, IE: Facebook, twitter, email, sound...
This is likely to be a long project and very unlikely to be a one man band. And like i said, i have not looked into this all that much, and may be a little more difficult than i first thought (please remember i have to learn a whole new environment and depending on the complexity AND the amount of free time i have "kids!!! who'd have'em...lol..." depends on the timeframe of this potential project)
So if you can bare with me and/or share a little knowledge to speed up the process of this, then please do... It will be greatly appreciated
Happy Flashing
Lee
You might check Sashimi and XDA_UC.
Also commercial apps, spb backup & spb clone...
PimBackup does the same thing...
Well minus the reg entries.
You could also script using the beta form of AutoHotkeyCE (version of Autohotkey being ported to PPC), I know you could write a script to backup the reg entries and automate the restore of stuff in that too.

Categories

Resources