Root [how to]unlock,install recovery,and root with htcdev

LtB said:

Problem solved: by booting with volume down rocker pressed.

New problem:
If I do that now, I get a normal boot into Android. I have tried several ways of pushing the buttons, but I do not succeed.
What is the official way to start and get the hboot screen?

Click to expand...

LtB said:

I found the answer in the exchange between you and yordy2010 , who had about the same problem.
I downloaded the RUU from both URL's that you provided.
In the README that came with it, on page 1 is stated that flashing the RUU erases all info and data content of the phone.
However, on page 5 the last screen clippig says "Your ROM update has been completed. Your Android phone is now ready for use."

Which of these two statements is true?
How much is ALL content? RAM? ROM? SD-card??

What should I backup?

Click to expand...

LtB said:

QUESTION:
Does it need an extension, e.g. like PD98IMG.ZIP?

Click to expand...

if youre working with a booted,operational phone,you can flsh the file in the following manner:

-open a cmd window

-change to adb/fastboot directory
cd c:\foldername
(cd c:\mini-adb if youve used any of my guides )

-place the zip file you want to flash into adb/fastboot directory

-enable usb debug,disable fastboot,plug in phone

-check for connectivity
adb devices (should return serial number)

-boot to fastboot
adb reboot bootloader

-check for connectivity again
fastboot devices

-flash the file
fastboot erase cache

fastboto oem rebootRUU (will put you in ruu mode,black screen silver htc letters)

fastboot flash zip zipfilename.zip (will send and flash the file. dont interupt it while the cmd window shows its writinging,and the green status bar is moving on the phone screen)

*sometimes a file will fail with a pre-update error. this is normal,just enter again:
fastboot flash zip zipfilename.zip
and this time it will finish

-when you get "finished" and "OK"
fastboot reboot-bootloader (takes you back to fastboot)

-reboot back to the OS
fastbooot reboot

you can use this if you dont have an operational phone as well. you just need to manually put the phone in fastboot(select from hboot menu) then skip the "adb" commands and start with fastboot devices

Click to expand...

vivaldi said:

Thanks for this tutorial, scotty. It's been super easy to follow. Glad to see this thread still alive as I've run into a problem though, and was hoping you might have an answer

I've downloaded the miniadb and went through the process of installing java, android sdk and htc sense like the htcdev site tells me I need to do. I have the pink LOCKED on my fastboot screen. I'll post it as follows:

***LOCKED***
ACE PVT SHIP S-ON RL
HBOOT-2.00.0030
MICROP-0438
RADIO-26.17.14.11_M
eMMC-boot

Trying to flash the RUU has been unsuccesful via the .exe and well as the zip on a fresh fat32 sd card. using the cmd to fastboot devices will show my Inspire 4G, but when I run fastboot oem get_indentifier_token, I'm getting the following error:

C:\Android fastboot oem get_indentifier_token
...
(bootloader) [ERR] Command error !!!
OKAY [ 0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.016s


Am I just out of luck on this bootloader? I've tried the Cingular USA RUU from htcdev and the .exe and .zip you have previously posted above. I'm currently running Android 2.3.5.

Click to expand...

troubleshooting connectivity issues:
*make sure you have changed to your adb/fastboot directory!
*make sure usb debugging is enabled(checkmarked) to use adb in the OS
-try a reboot of the PC
-try different usb cables and ports
-dont use a usb hub
-dont use usb 3.0
-make sure nothing capable of comunicating with the phone is enabled and running. htc sync,pdanet,easy tether,and even itunes have all been known to cause issues.
-windows 8 has been known to have issues. try a windows 7 or older machine

failing the above,
-i use these drivers for fastboot and adb(donwload and run as admin): http://downloads.unrevoked.com/HTCDriver3.0.0.007.exe (mirror)

failing that,try manually updating the drivers in the following manner:
-put the phone in fastboot mode(select fastboot from the hboot menu)
-open device manager on the PC
-plug in phone,watch for it to pop up in device manager.
-update drivers with device manager,pointing the wizard to the extracted
driver download folder from above

note that you can check the connectivity of the phone,and make sure drivers are working by in the following manner:
-open cmd window. change to directory containing adb/fastboot utilities

-adb with the phone in the booted OS,usb debug enabled,enter:
adb devices in a cmd window

-fastboot with phone in fastboot(not hboot!),enter:
fastboot devices in cmd window

in either case,a properly connected phone with working drivers installed should report back the phones serial number.

Click to expand...

LtB said:

Well, I am now the happy user of a phone that is rooted via the steps I found here.
I have since searched some tools that I can now use to find the cause of the high energy usage and short battery life time.
I am glad I found some quite good apps to manage permissions. I downloaded all that were suitable for my HDesHD, that I found using "Permissions"as a search string.
Most seem more powerful than I can use now. I'll start studying the various restrictions...

Any tips on what permissions (e.g. for GPS) can safely and easily be restricted?

I'll now post some other questions in separate posts.

Click to expand...

LtB said:

I also found one battery manager: "Battery monitor" (a widget) .
That was disappointing, because it did not specify energy consumption per app, as I had hoped. I thought to have seen such a thing once.

Is such an app known?

Click to expand...

LtB said:

During the Root process I have installed SuperSU, but before I had already seen "Super User".
Some other Apps want to have SuperUser installed, but I don't know in how far these two are interchangeable.

Are they?
If they are, why do some apps ask for one in particular?
If they are not, what will happen if I install the other one?
Can I switch as required?

Click to expand...

LtB said:

I want to explore ROM manager. It requires "a recovery like ClockworkMod Recovery"to install doftware.
If I continue, it will install its newest version.
But I have already installed a recovery (I forget the name, it contains a 4).
Are these two interchangeable?

Has one advantages over the other, besides that ROM manager is nitpicking?

Click to expand...

nct53 said:

Hello Scotty85 !

I must say, I am really impressed with how much time you spent helping yordy2010 out with his rooting problems, and your wealth of knowledge! It is really good to know that people like you really do still exist in this crazy, cutthroat world!

I have never rooted a phone, so only know what I have read, and some of the terminology I don't really understand. However, having said that, I am very computer literate, and not afraid to try things as long as I am confident I have the correct information to accomplish the task.

I have a couple of questions:

1. I have an HTC Inspire running Android 2.3.5, and software number 3.20.502.63 710RD. I do not know if my phone is a "ACE", "DHD" or how to find out since it isn't listed in the phone info as far as I can see. Will your instructions and files listed work on this phone?
yes,these instructions work just fine on both the inspire,or desire hd,as both phones are codename "ACE". you will see the ace codename when you boot to hboot. these models have almost identicle hardware.

As I read through the posts, I saw people talking about loading "other" roms such as "cm-JellyTime_42_R7", and I can guess these must contain some features not found in the factory rom. Can you point me to some thread(s) or articles explaining some of these other roms and what their features are?
there is an "all things root" sticky thread at the top of the forum that contains links to guides and roms,among other things. your best bet is to go to the individual roms thread and read thru the original post and check out features,known bugs,and screen shots.

most folks who root a dhd/inspire do so becasue they want a newer and greater OS,since as far as ace got was gingerbread. there are a handful of funtional 4.0,4.1,and maybe 4.2(havent looked for awhile) roms that are based on htcs stock sense UI.as a general rule,these roms are larger and more complex,and harder for older hardware to run. the rest of the roms are based on "AOSP" or "android open source project" code. these roms are for the most part quite useable,it has never ceased to amaze me the talent and devotion that exists within ace community.

the AOSP roms will be different than what youre used to,but a good way to bring "new life" to this older phone. jellytime is one of the more popular 4.1/4.2 roms. alot of us have run it and can vouge for its stability.

not that i am trying to talk you into a new rom. nothing wrong with staying on your current OS,if thats how you like your phone

unfortunately,there is not a single thread with an info/comparison of available roms. the fact that they are updated and changed so much makes maintenance of such a thread very difficult

2. I am with Net-10, but they use the AT&T system. I want to use my HTC as a hot spot, but don't want to pay AT&T the extra fee, and not sure I could even if I wanted to since my account is with Net-10. I have tried several apps that are suppose to do this, but after getting the hotspot icon in the status bar, it immediately goes away, and I get a "go to AT&T and buy it" message. There are apps that say they can do this, but also say they need "root access". So, can I root my phone, and not load a non-standard rom? What part of the process you outline would I need to do?
yes. following this guide will add root access to your stock rom. at that point,apps requiring root access will work. i cannot personally help you find a tether app that works,as this could be considered theft of a service that your carrier offers. but with GB there should be a few that will accomplish the task.

3. Since (at least at this time) I do not what to load a not-standard rom, and am a little scared of bricking(?) my phone, can I achieve setting up my phone's hotspot another way?
there are a few apps that claim to work without root,but i do not think any free ones. youll just have to try a few and see if any work

Thank you in advance for your help! I think your answers COULD point me in a direction that would not be germane to this thread, and if so, please point me in the right direction!

Click to expand...

phoneuser said:

Thanks for the quick reply

Exactly, most of the time I'm getting the restarting issue when battery is a bit low and I do admit it's time to change my battery since it discharges very quickly even though it had shown a full charge a few hours earlier.

Here are more questions:

1) The current battery in the phone came with it and is 1230 mAh and since I will be buying a new one, is it safe to purchase a battery with higher capacity??? Will it be compatible without issues???
a higher capacity battery will often be physically larger,and require a new cover,so when shopping for batteries just check that part out.

otherwise,there should not be any incompatability issues as long as you buy a battery intened for your device.

2) Can you suggest to me which stock ROM should I revert back to for best performance and compatibility??? I had this software before I unlocked the bootloader and installed the custom ROM:

Android Version: 2.3.5

HTC Sense Version: 3.0

Software Number: 3.13.707.4

I do have it's backup which I made with the custom recovery tool as per the guide on first page, so can you please provide me with steps on how to either restore that backup??? I want a fresh installation of the stock ROM as if it came out of the box, so would restoring from the backup achieve that or will I need to download a fresh stock RUU and run it? If so please suggest the best possible stock ROM and the steps on how to install it. My phone came carrier unlocked and I was able to use different SIMS in it right out of the box.

youre in luck,there actually is an ruu for your build if you happen to need it:
Shipped ROMs

but restoring your stock backup will work just as well. since you are s on,youll need to install the matching boot image manually,just like you did when you installed your rom. the process will be the same,with exception of you will restore your back up in place of the step where you flashed the rom.

i cannot recall the exact menu options,but ral has an excellent guide to using 4 ext,with a section on restoring your backup: http://androidforums.com/desire-hd-all-things-root/631481-4ext-recovery-how.html


@scotty would like to get your feedback on this and last post of mine

Click to expand...