Complete noob with very nooby questions.

[Guest Robafet]

Ok, so I'm ducking to avoid being flamed alive for asking these rather stupid questions, but have spent a long time reading through threads, and not managed to get anywhere.

1. are cooked roms unnofficial firmware updates? My Samsung i900 Omnia is stuck on Windows 6.1, and despite following the how to update your phone officially thread to the t, it's not worked, tried it twice. Will installing a cooked rom allow me to update to 6.5 unnofficial firmware?

2. There seem to be a couple of favoured roms, which is the more noob friendly one, and would installing say the ock premium one prevent me from using any of the omnia software?

3. how do I install the rom, ther seems to be a guide for writing your own roms, but not sure what to do to install.

Sorry in advance if I've missed any of the answers to these questions before, or if I'm just being incredibly stupid, and thanks for any help anyone can give.

[Guest amb123]

Ok, so I'm ducking to avoid being flamed alive for asking these rather stupid questions, but have spent a long time reading through threads, and not managed to get anywhere.

1. are cooked roms unnofficial firmware updates? My Samsung i900 Omnia is stuck on Windows 6.1, and despite following the how to update your phone officially thread to the t, it's not worked, tried it twice. Will installing a cooked rom allow me to update to 6.5 unnofficial firmware?

2. There seem to be a couple of favoured roms, which is the more noob friendly one, and would installing say the ock premium one prevent me from using any of the omnia software?

3. how do I install the rom, ther seems to be a guide for writing your own roms, but not sure what to do to install.

Sorry in advance if I've missed any of the answers to these questions before, or if I'm just being incredibly stupid, and thanks for any help anyone can give.

Hi and Welcome,

I'll try to answer your questions, hopefully I got them right.

I used to have I900 and used OCK's ROMs before. He is a wonderful cook. Reading through his thread only you will understand a lot about WM, roms, registry etc. The unofficial ROMs are the ones that pople like OCK, STEFF and others created on their own. Those ROMs are their experiments. Omnia i900 has never been officially updated to wm6.5. All the 6.5 roms are custom and simply use the wm6.5 or one of the 6.5.x as a base. All necessary changes are usually made by cooks and other developers. If I were you, I would not try to make your own ROM just yet, but it does not hurt to read. Several guides and kitchens are available on modaco. OCK definitely released his kitchen and wrote a beautiful guide. By the way, searching for answers, use GOOGLE, you will find that modaco is not the only forum and others have a lot to offer. Also make sure that when you flashing a ROM you follow the procedure step by step; otherwise, you might brick (brake) your phone. The procedure written by another member - Sector is also available here. If you can't find it then google it and you will. Now regarding 6.1 vs 6.5/6.5.x. WM 6.1 was not a bad OS and more importantly having it you will avoid a problem that exist pretty much on all 6.5/6.5.x Roms - memory management issue (when os does not let you run more than a couple programs at a time). Windows 6.5 is is the last official mobile platform released by Microsoft. 6.5.x are all that nave not been released to public but available for developers. They are more finger friendly than 6.1 or 6.5 but some third party apps will not run on them properly. When you looking on screen shots, if you see the "START" button on the bottom, it means the ROM is 6.5.x if it is on top it is 6.1 or 6.5. There are some other visual differences. Usually, cooks mention the ROM's version number. Now regarding the apps, when you flash a new ROM, you completely remove one set of data (os, ui, apps etc) and put in another set. The process is not reversible unless you flash another ROM; so, think before you do. You can find some samsung apps here in the cab version (i.e . just transfer to your phone and install them). However, unless you decided to use ultra-light (stripped) ROM, you most likely won't need them. The OCK's premium is pretty much complete ROM with all the bells and whistles.

Good luck in your learning.

[Guest Robafet]

Thanks for your speedy response, think I'll stick with my current 6.1 official, since it seems from what you've said and what I've read that 6.5 is really just a 'prettier' UI. It's wierd, every phone seems to have it's own terminoligy, I've never come accross the terms cook or kitchen in regards to technology, but I suppose it's much the same that you can jailbrake an Iphone, but that's not a term used for any other phone. Have been searching through xda too, and not found any really basic guides, since most of the terminology is lost on me. Anyhoots, since I'm sticking with 6.1 it doesn't matter. Again thanks very much, I'm glad I've found the forums, since there is an array of different software all doing the same job, and working out which is best has been made much easier by communities like this. - Robafet

Also thanks for not flaming me, everyone has to learn, and some of us need a helping hand.

[Guest dragonmatahari]

Thanks for your speedy response, think I'll stick with my current 6.1 official, since it seems from what you've said and what I've read that 6.5 is really just a 'prettier' UI. It's wierd, every phone seems to have it's own terminoligy, I've never come accross the terms cook or kitchen in regards to technology, but I suppose it's much the same that you can jailbrake an Iphone, but that's not a term used for any other phone. Have been searching through xda too, and not found any really basic guides, since most of the terminology is lost on me. Anyhoots, since I'm sticking with 6.1 it doesn't matter. Again thanks very much, I'm glad I've found the forums, since there is an array of different software all doing the same job, and working out which is best has been made much easier by communities like this. - Robafet

Also thanks for not flaming me, everyone has to learn, and some of us need a helping hand.

my recommendation for you :)

6.5.x is not just about prettier UI, things you should notice are smooth speed and responsiveness and finger friendly operation, i never use ...err "the stick" since then (look..even i fail to remembered correct word for that ..err "small pen" thing :( ).

For trouble free upgrade rom, you should try Ock's GTX (first release) it's a wm 6.5.3 build 23118 (com 3), try it sir, you will never look back for 6.1 ;)

its not hard to flash..

1. triple check your installed driver before doing it for the first time.

2. don't hurry.. relax and wait till it says Jobs Done.

3. usually the phone will restart twice, first boot to installing all the applications (your jobs is just set time and date then click "next" in this procedure then wait for the second reboot.. you are ready to go)

hope that helps :P

[Guest Robafet]

So, just to double check, will G-alarm, phone Ex (if I will even need it anymore?),Slide 2 unlock 2, spb mobile shell (again if I even need it with better interface), and Midomi music app all work. As these are the apps I use the most. Starting to like the idea of the upgrade, what's the memory footprint like compared to original 6.1? taken me ages to get to grips with the omnia, since I've always had nokia phones in the past - last one being music xpress 5530, and the omnia is indeed a very different beast indeed. Again cheers for your advice, it's much apreciated.

Edited October 7, 2010 by Robafet

[Guest Robafet]

went for it cheers, looking sweet so far (and I'm bricking it, at least I'm not bricking the phone LOL)

[Guest dragonmatahari]

So, just to double check, will G-alarm, phone Ex (if I will even need it anymore?),Slide 2 unlock 2, spb mobile shell (again if I even need it with better interface), and Midomi music app all work. As these are the apps I use the most. Starting to like the idea of the upgrade, what's the memory footprint like compared to original 6.1? taken me ages to get to grips with the omnia, since I've always had nokia phones in the past - last one being music xpress 5530, and the omnia is indeed a very different beast indeed. Again cheers for your advice, it's much apreciated.

all the apps you mention works in 6.5.x, you should notice some improvement in weather graphical interface on spb ms. (if you want to use spbms, go for a lite rom instead). For the first impression try Ock's GTX instead (s2u already cook in)..., dont get me wrong, i'm not promoting ock or underestimate other great chef here at modaco.. but ermmmm.. bla bla bla.. just try it your self :)

[Guest Robafet]

Loving it, like a new mobile, touch sensetivity is improved, it's amazing, like you said, won't look back to 6.1 ever - cheers Dragon.

[Guest amb123]

Loving it, like a new mobile, touch sensetivity is improved, it's amazing, like you said, won't look back to 6.1 ever - cheers Dragon.

Congrats, you made your first step. Believe me it is an addiction. Every time someone releases a new Rom, it is very tempting to try it. Now, I'd like to introduce you to a couple of apps you will need in case you want to learn your phone better and discover how much it can actually do. No offense to IPhone it is a well crafted device, but when you try to compare functionality of it to the 4 year old i900, it is not a match. Omnia can do so much more, you do have to know how to work it though.

First, if you don't know it yet, you will need one of the numerous registry editors available. Pretty much all of them available in cab version, so it is very easy to install them. I personally like Total commander but there are whole bunch of others to your liking. When you have it you will understand what people do to modify registry to get some improvements. Remember it is still windows; so, structure wise it is a lot like PC. Also if you flashed OCK's GTX rom, it is Manila 2.1 based ROM (read on "manila") so if you like to modify UI you will need m2dc software. Also you will need one of the back up softwares, in case you mess up your phone modifying registry. This is just to begin with.

Also for you to keep an eye on. If you are getting an out of memory message, check the amount of memory left on your device. It is under setting>system>memory. You might need to soft reset the phone (hold power button for about 3sec to turn it off and then the same way turn it on). Memory issue can also manifest itself in you not being able to receive sms/mms.

Keep learning my friend and again good luck.

Edited October 8, 2010 by amb123

[Guest Robafet]

Cheers for the advice, I got total commander, and I've used a couple of different backup apps. Also treated myself to a 20 pin multi adaptor, so I can use it as an alarm clock plugged into my stereo via aux, and have it mains connected too, It's amazing. Had a bit of a look into manilla, but opted to go with spb, since it was what I used on my nokia before, and i just transfered the licence. Also picked up myself a copy of phon EX since it's slightly easier for me to use, and LCG jukebox since I already had it (tho nitrogen is rather nice too) Other app I'm trialing at the mo are slide 2 unlock 2 - since it has more options than the slide included in the rom, and am looking for a good comicbook reader, and a way to disable the camera sound (sure I've seen a thread on here about it, and will have a nosey when I get 5) If it's possible to be arroused by a piece of tech, then I'm aroused :)

Cheers to you guys, and to ock for his amazing rom, which made my very arkward device into a pleasure to use.

Edited October 8, 2010 by Robafet

[Guest mowinnie]

This is a good comfy post for newbies. :) Thanks for the replies.

I always wondered what cabs you all kept in XDA_UC and SD. I know it differs from person to person bla bla.....but Id like to know some 'comfy' opinions.

[Guest dragonmatahari]

hey.. congratulation mostly for all :(...

your all made me thinking.. from the thread title it says 'Complete Noob' ...for me in this situation there's no nooby question (of course, after you read something you dont know, then you ask someone... ) ...i'm once too starts here as a noob :)... nowadays if i look at some threads there's a lot 'noobier' questions asked by someones that posts above 1000 quotes ,questions or whatever statements ....pretend they know everything but actually they dont ;)..

p.s : requested cab attached.. enjoy

CameraNoSoundSh1.cab

Edited October 9, 2010 by dragonmatahari

[Guest dragonmatahari]

This is a good comfy post for newbies. :) Thanks for the replies.

I always wondered what cabs you all kept in XDA_UC and SD. I know it differs from person to person bla bla.....but Id like to know some 'comfy' opinions.

depend on which rom flashed.. extra lite or premium rom

but for me sktools, resco explorer and resco photo manager its a must

[Guest amb123]

depend on which rom flashed.. extra lite or premium rom

but for me sktools, resco explorer and resco photo manager its a must

I would suggest to use any of the autoinstall apps only with the programs that don't require your attention. I mean, don't put on the list anything that softresets device automatically or asks you to do so (custom taskbars for instance). Don't use it for cabs that modify registry as well (intermediate modem driver etc) and don't use it if you might change your mind about the location where you want to install it. I personally don't use autoinstall at all because every custom ROM has its glitches, nothing to worry about even official ones have them; however, you never know at what point one or the other of your favorite apps is going to stop working/malfunction and possibly mess up your device. My examples were a poker game that run beautifully on I900 and first couple of times on my current phone I8000L. After some time it screwed up my O2 so bad that I had to hard reset. Another one was pocket RAR that works on 6.1 and 6.5 but not on 6.5.x. After all it takes on average about 10-15 sec for an app to install. Even if you have 50 apps, it is not going to take much time.

Edited October 9, 2010 by amb123

[Guest mowinnie]

dragonmatahari and amb123, thank you for your guidance.

i suppose one would keep the latest sdkcertificate there., mortscript ? of course it depends on the contents and capacity of the rom chosen.

[Guest Robafet]

Ok, so got a new issue, and looked all throught the settings, but the speakephone icon is now greyed out, so I can't turn on the speakerphone for calls, probably something I've altered, but can't for the life of me remember how to turn it back on. Any ideas, not using phon ex at the moment, ad the included ock gtx ui is good.

Cheers for the file linky, save me a further traw.

[Guest dragonmatahari]

Ok, so got a new issue, and looked all throught the settings, but the speakephone icon is now greyed out, so I can't turn on the speakerphone for calls, probably something I've altered, but can't for the life of me remember how to turn it back on. Any ideas, not using phon ex at the moment, ad the included ock gtx ui is good.

Cheers for the file linky, save me a further traw.

what a coincidence.. just posted that solution at ock's thread today.. try change phone reg setting

from source (dont remember it :) , but still in modaco's) stated that its related to bluetooth

Edit your registry:-

HKLM\System\State\Hardware\Headset from '1' to '0'

[Guest dragonmatahari]

dragonmatahari and amb123, thank you for your guidance.

i suppose one would keep the latest sdkcertificate there., mortscript ? of course it depends on the contents and capacity of the rom chosen.

well.. i think will depend on situation..

situation 1

mosts of current rom release are already being cook in with latest sdk certificate and mortscript, unless u are using/experimenting older rom release or when installing new software that demand newer version certificate\mortscript (mostly that specific software developer will include it with cab or somekind of instruction/manual for it).

Therefore, both of them are not needed in xda uc folder.

situation 2

you know that some applications that you include in xda uc folder need specific certificate\mortscript and the rom you're flashing does'nt have it (latest sdk certificate\mortscript),

well you should include them in xda uc folder for your convenience on later task.

tips..

like amb123 said.. dont put user multi confirmation software cabs in xda uc folder (unless you know it work) to avoid problems and complications during first boot on every flashing procedure.

..just sharing experience :), please correct me if i'm wrong

Edited October 9, 2010 by dragonmatahari

[Guest Robafet]

Again cheers for the fast response, worked like a charm, had a play with an iphone, and gotta say prefered the i900 omnia, simply because of the customization available, and the amount of useful apps available.

[Guest amb123]

Again cheers for the fast response, worked like a charm, had a play with an iphone, and gotta say prefered the i900 omnia, simply because of the customization available, and the amount of useful apps available.

I'd like to recommend one more very useful app that I used to have on my I900. Check out this post http://www.modaco.com/content/i9x0-omnia-h...autocalllocker/. I had a couple of issues with this app in the beginning but later it was working very well. It is a fair compensation for the absent proximity sensor.

P.S. I am not sure that SDK certificate there is the latest (sorry, don't follow I900 threads closely any more).

[Guest Robafet]

Just wanted to say a MASSIVE thanks to the kindness and help this community has shown me, hopefully I can share my journey with others as and when needed. You are a fine lot, and should all have a pat on the back - go on, I'm waiting to see you all start patting :)

[Guest mowinnie]

Thank you. Points/situations noted.

Its difficult to catch up with all the threads in this forum.

Was dealing with sis and apk files till now. These cabs are just wonderful !! They install so fast. Love them :)

[Guest Robafet]

just got brave and fitted my i900 with a new digitizer, my gawd it's so sensetive now, feels like a new phone, can highly recomend it, tho it was a bit fiddly.

[Guest Robafet]

Ok, so loving the ock gtx rom, it's a miracle, but can anyone tell me if grey or faun means on in the favourite hackings menu? tried fiddling, but as most of them aren't visible to the human eye, i can't work out which are on, which are off, so does grey or light brown mean on?

grey=?

light brown=?

cheers in advance for any light that can be shed on this as it's driving me nuts LOL.

[Guest Robafet]

ah - worked it out, sorry folks was being a sunday morning moron LOL