A Newbie's Flashing Strategy

[Guest spammyspam]

So I've had my Desire on Vodafone for a far few weeks now. I've set it all up nice and dandy as I like, but now I want to take things a little further. I only really want openVPN, but since this is nontrivial I thought the best way was to just go ahead and flash with a new rom; at the very least a generic one. Some questions so I can figure out my options:

1) Why do I need to root for MCR and not for a generic HTC ROM?

2) I think I'll lose all my settings and setup etc. Is there any way to retain these, or at least as much as possible? I have that "backup to SD" thing enabled.

3) Does retaining my settings depend on what ROM I want to flash to?

[Guest EddyOS]

When you do the first root process you have a stock 1.15.405.4 WWE ROM, completely as it is out the box, but with SuperUser Permissions added - from this you can then either go for an MCR ROM or one from another chef. As it is, though, you can add new items via the recovery process and flash from your SD card

I'd imagine backups from the card would be fine but you'd lose other settings that aren't covered with the backup

Edited May 19, 2010 by EddyOS

[Guest spammyspam]

Sorry I'm being a bit dim. Do I have to root to upgrade to a later generic stock firmware? I believe I have a operator rom.

Will I have to reinstall everything with subsequent updates, or is "flashing via recovery process" non impactive like that?

[Guest EddyOS]

To check what you've got at the moment, go to Settings>About phone>Software information

The generic Desire ROM version is (currently) 1.15.405.4, and Vodafone one is 1.15.161.4 (I think, might be wrong). If you've got anything other than 1.15.405.x then you're on an operator locked device and you'd need a Goldcard to flash your device.

Flashing a new ROM will remove everything and factory reset the unit, so you'd need to reinstall everything (or use backup software to backup your apps - e.g. appmanager)

Edited May 19, 2010 by EddyOS

[Guest spammyspam]

You're bang on, it's 1.15.161.4.

If each new ROM will wipe everything, then I think I'll wait till 2.2 or something big comes out before I take the plunge myself.

Thanks for the help!

[Guest spammyspam]

Actually one last question: can I use a goldcard to flash an MCR ROM? Or do I have to explicitly root first?

[Guest EddyOS]

I think you have to root first - the issue you have is the stock VF ROM isn't available as a backup so you'd be on the rooted ROM until it's available. May be best to leave it for now

[Guest FrancisFuku]

If you want to install any custom ROMs, you have to root. It's not the only benefit of rooting (there's also the possibility to install apps to your SD card, to backup your entire phone, not just messages or settings, so that if something goes wrong, you can rely on this backup, to install some apps which explicitely requires root such as wifi-tether or Titanium Backup which backups all your apps), but it's one of the biggest. So don't be scared, if you follow Paul's instructions, it should be alright :)

And to answer your other question, I disagree with EddyOS, flashing doesn't wipe all your data. It's more like an update. It's recommended to wipe (it's always to have a clean base to avoid any problems) but not mandatory. And if you wipe your phone before flashing, like I said earlier, there's still the possibility to restore all your data and apps with an app such as Titanium Backup. But to be honest, I've flashed my phone several times now without wiping, and I don't have any issues.

Edited May 19, 2010 by FrancisFuku

[Guest spammyspam]

Thanks for the response!

So how come you don't have to root in order to flash generic roms? I don't mind having root AFTER flashing, I'm just wondering if I have to root first before applying a custom ROM. What makes a custom ROM different that you can't apply it like a generic ROM?

Can I flash with a custom/generic, see if things work okay, and if not wipe? Is that any different to wiping before flashing?

[Guest EddyOS]

You'd need a Goldcard for your Desire as it's operator branded - may even need to root to do it - as the FW version are different. I've come from an HD2 where you just change the SPL and you can flash whatever you want, stock or custom, and it's easy as anything!!