alhenderson

What ROM are you running, out of interest? I tried an ICS one a few weeks back and it was so unstable I could barely get the phone started. New to rooting, mind you, so may well have been me!

Al

ral

Unless you flashed Ice Cold Sandwich, a few weeks back all the ICS based ROM’a were a bit on the buggy side. So, it was probably the ROM, not you. If you are interested to try again, give us a holler. I can't promise you bug free, but I can probably find you one with no deal breakers.

alhenderson

Am certainly interested in giving it a go - given that flashing back to GB is easy enough..

ral

Backup your ROM and apps. SMS too. I advise you don't backup system app settings.

So what do you you feel like, a Sense based ROM similar to default HTC or something more like vanilla Android/Nexus like?

alhenderson

Vanilla Android, I think, went off Sense a while ago..

ral

I would recommend Ice Cold Sandwich 8.7. Last version I used was 8.6.1, which was very stable. The biggest issue I had were a few scaling issues in the interface and stock SMS app, but nothing major.

BRB, switching to laptop.

alhenderson

Thanks for your help - do you use ROM Manager to install ROMs, or do you download them yourself?

Al.

ral

I download them myself. Here is the XDA thread for ICS 8.7. I would not recommend a ROM manager. @scotty85 warned me against using them, and after 20+ successful flashes I think he gave good advice.

For recovery I used 4Ext Touch Recovery.

I check the md5sum of the file after I download and after I transfer it to the SDCard. If you want to check it just once, check it after you transfer it to the SDCard.

Even when going from one version of one ROM to another, I do a full wipe. So basically.

This ROM is pretty easy to install:

a) Place the downloaded zip file in the root of your SDcard. Do not put it in a folder or anything.
b) Check the file md5sum
c) Go into recovery.
d) Factory reset/wipe date
e) Wipe cache
f) Wipe dalvik
g) Install from zip
h) Reboot

If you want details on any particular steps, just tell me.

After install there are some things you should check:

• Make sure that the Google Play it working. Download something.
  
• Make sure the phones screen turns off properly and goes to deep sleep. Turn of the display and after a few minutes go to Settings ---> Power ---> Battery use ---> Click the graph and check out the "Awake" and "Screen on" entries.

alhenderson

I downloaded a ROM manager when I first rooted, but couldn't actually get it to work so went manual, although got a bit worried about the google apps etc. All worked out OK, so must have done something right. I have Titanium backup going to restoring should be taken care of.

How do you check the md5sum?

Thanks,
Al.

ral

If use Root Explorer you can browse to the file and long press until the menu comes up and select "Properites". You will see a long string of numbers and letter beside the word MD5.

This is the md5sum of Ice Cold Sandwich 8.7: b655dfd6748a247a9cc42bebe0d8b1d7

If this matches what you see on your screen it is a good download. If the numbers don't match, you have to download again.

There is a free version which can do the same thing called Explorer.

Your file manager in your current ROM can probably do the same thing.

ral

I am a Sense guys myself. D-U-R-X would be better at advising on ICS. But this ROM is pretty problem free. Working camera and 720p video.

What do you get? Of course you get Android 4.0.4 but you also get some nice new launcher options. I noticed you are on CM7. If you are using the ADW launcher, I think you will find the Nova or Apex launchers, like AWD on steroids.

What you don't get? Headset buttons probably wont work. This is common with all (well all I have tried), or at least not on all apps.

Google Chrome can be a bit buggy. Again a common DHD ICS ROM issue.

By the way. Ice Cold Sandwich already had Google Apps built in so no need to install gappps.

Last edited by ral; October 2nd, 2012 at 11:49 AM.

alhenderson

Thanks for the suggestion of that ROM - all up and running now and looking pretty nice so far! Dead easy to do, as you suggested. Just going through restoring some of my backed up stuff now. Might serve to give the phone a new lease of life - I'm due an upgrade but don't fancy an SGS3 - too big, and nothing else really stands out either. Might go SIM only for a bit..

A successful evening's work there - thanks for all the tips!

Al.

D-U-R-X

Good to hear that you're all sorted!

__________________

D-U-R-X

Could be worth doing... Everything Everywhere (now EE... the people who run Orange and T-Mobile) are soon going to start rolling 4G out across the UK... Will be in quite a few cities by Christmas, meaning it won't be long before we see a load of 4G enabled phones in the UK

Mehta23

Wait.... Ice Cold Sandwich 8.7? Lord C seems like he just can't stop...

greglb842

Asopx

ral

Your welcome.

alhenderson

How did you do that screenshot? I thought it was power and home button, but that doesn't seem to work on the ICS ROM I installed yesterday. I guess maybe it doesn't work on that ROM?

Al.

D-U-R-X

Think it depends on what ROM you have installed... which have you got?

ral

He is running Ice Cold Sandwich. Oh gosh, I do not remember for that ROM.

"Power" and "Home" is the default. If you long press the power button does a screenshot option come out in the menu? If this does not work, D-U-R-X will know. He is on Ice Cold too.

Last edited by ral; October 3rd, 2012 at 07:21 AM.

D-U-R-X

Had missed that! Just checking now (I don't use that functionality)

D-U-R-X

Right... a quick search has told me you have to enable it to let you take screenshots... from your homescreen:

"system settings=>ROM Control=>Power Menu Options"

Tick the screenshot button and then, when you long press on the power button, you will get the option to take a screen shot

ral

Tried to entice him with Sense, but well he belongs to... YOUR SIDE.

I gotta find someone else and recruit him to the Dark Side. I really don't get it. We have cooler widgets

D-U-R-X

I would have thought that, as HTC's own UI is Sense, that we would be the Dark Side... unless you look at it as Android is Google's OS and you are running a version which has an overlay (HTC's Sense), whereas we're running pure, unadulterated, Android?

I'll give you the Sense Clock widget as being cooler... there are other versions available, but there just not as good! You can replicate pretty much all of the widgets for free anyway

ral

No we have the Tie Fighters, AT-AT's and Star Destroyers, all in one uniform color scheme.

AOKP... you have a mishmash of widgets from every where

D-U-R-X

alhenderson

I completely forgot that I asked that screenshot question - was just about to come on here and ask it again when I realised the answer was already here! Thanks guys, works a treat. Just to prove it:


ICS Desire HD by Al Henderson, on Flickr

I had Sense for ages when I got the phone and liked it, but the Friends widget kept giving up on me so I went in search of something else and ended up with LauncherPro. That got me out of the Sense habit, so when I rooted I went vanilla Android. Not to say I won't try Sense again, though - its not exactly difficult to swap :-)

The clock/weather widget is better in Sense, I'll give you that. Haven't yet found one that looks quite as good.

Al.

Last edited by alhenderson; October 5th, 2012 at 06:27 AM.

alhenderson

By the way, @ral, thanks for your help getting ICS on my DHD - its great. Very impressed with how stable its been, and it runs really well no noticeable lags etc compared to Gingerbread. Makes you wonder if HTC's excuse of the experience not being very good was just that..

Al.

ral

Your welcome.

Clocks. When you are not busy, check out Minimalistic Text at Google Play. A bit of time sink, but if I ever go AOSP/AOKP, I think I will build a whole new look based on that app.

D-U-R-X

IIRC, they actually said that it would involve changing partitions on the phone, which would mean that user data would be lost and, for the majority of "normal" users, this would be a problem. I think the general answer from the root community has been "fine, but why not release the source code, so the ROM devs could release a full version"...

ral

The DHD has 575MB of system space, and a bloat free Sense ICS install eats 90% of that. We did not get ICS, because there would not be enough space for HTC and carrier bloat, They could have made a ICS ROM without re-partitioning if they simply allowed some HTC apps as add-ons downloaded from HTC hub. Same for carrier apps. Of course they don't want to do this.

D-U-R-X

If that was the case, HTC would have released ICS to unbranded handsets (as in the ones that were direct purchases of SIM-Free phones)...

davo26

following this with interest as i like the 2 images above. which rom are they from? i assume ICS but which one?

im running ARHD at the mo and happy with it, but dont really understand what vanilla is and how it compares to sense. more stripped down? call me stupid but i thought GB and ICS were all sense, and stuff like cyanogenmod were stripped down.

now im sort of reading that ICS can be both sense and vanilla?? is that right?

im a bit confused about the differences.......

thanks

ral

All the screenshots above are from Ice Cold Sandwich.

I don't know what to say. Even full Sense 4 fits in a DHD's 575 MB of system space without re-partitioning, with most of the "Sense bloat" intact. As far as I can tell recall, only HTC Premium Navigation is not present.

Last edited by ral; October 5th, 2012 at 02:07 PM.

alhenderson

Vanilla refers to Android as developed and released by Google. Sense is the layer that HTC put on Android to give it a unique look and feel. GB and ICS are different releases of Android which can both have Sense layered on top of them.

Hope that helps..

Al

davo26

just trying this now and love the look of it. hope that the battery lifes ok, if so ill stick with it.

how do i get it to have that front screen above, cant see it in wallpapers. and can i change the 5 icons at bottom of screen? so i can have gmail, messages, contacts, internet and favourites folder as quick launches, instead of voice recorder for instance.

thanks

EDIT: also love the black and blue look, so it seems a shame to have green messaging icons etc. is there a way to change the colours oif those so it all looks super slick? :-)

also the pics show 7 icons at the bottom, ive only got 5. how do i change that too? just cant seem to find those options at the mo.

Last edited by davo26; October 6th, 2012 at 10:09 AM.

ral

This wallpaper?

Yes.

Yes. you can download themes.

D-U-R-X

I just don't know... it's a shame that they haven't released the source info... the ROM devs could have cooked up some good stuff!!

ral

Oh, the Dev's are getting there... using the Incredible S and Sensation XL ROM's

davo26

thanks. where do i download that theme, and does that theme come with the date written across it like that?

EDIT: found some themes on xda but none look like that.

Last edited by davo26; October 6th, 2012 at 12:13 PM.

ral

The theme I used in the Screenshot is the free Sense them which you can use with the Nova or Apex Launcher. The date display was made with an App called Minimalistic Text. Both available at Google Play.

Last edited by ral; December 13th, 2012 at 07:23 PM.

davo26

thanks. installed the minimal text, but cant resize it. set font to 50 dip (max) and the letters are still small.

cant find that sense theme anywhere.

thanks

ral

Wanted to up this topic. Next time a new rooter drops by, what ROM do you think we should recommend, and why.

Also, in the all things root sticky on top, is a longer list better or should it be limited to just one or two ROM's power type. Sort of a AF recommended stamp?

ugleymatt

My first (and at time of writing only) rom i have tried is AOSPX which i have to say has been great, the battery life has been superb compared to the stock rom i was running. As a pure android one it seems great.

Mehta23

There should be a Ral Recommended Section with your top roms and tweaks. Including the roms that you've made..... Or will make.

ral

I think collectively we can figure out which ROM's won't disappoint a new user. Once you have been at this for awhile, I think we enjoy having an issue to text and fix.

But there are a fair number I have not tried.

Last edited by ral; December 13th, 2012 at 09:29 AM.

Mehta23

Well, definitely aospx, arhd, I think pacman and JT too.

And then a section dedicated to miui!

Ralls Royal Roms.... Regal Roms? Radical?

ral

JellyTime is the one I am not sure about. It looks like it requires a Radio upgrade to get GPS working. Also there is that auto rotate breaking issue, which as far as I can tell, no one here had encountered.

ARHD. Does anyone still want to run Gingerbread that days?

ral

Definitely, this one is easy to recommend.

Mehta23

... -_- No...

But.... Yeah , I got nothin'