Root Rooted but need some guidance on flashing new ROM

[am9]

Hi. I've taken the plunge and rooted my Desire from the recent GB 2.3.3, 3.14.405.1 and it's 1.02.0001 Hboot. First time.

I followed some very clear instructions on Unlockr which I got from a link on this site.

I used Revolutionary so the phone shows as following...
Revolutionary CWM 4.0.1.4
Hboot 6.93.1002
Gingerbread 2.3.3 as before

I'm happy with Gingerbread and with Sense. The only reason I thought about rooting was because I ran out of RAM with the new update. So...here's where my questions start.

Can I keep the ROM I have and just repartition the SD card to extend the phone's RAM memory? If so, how do I do that?

If not, and I have to flash a new ROM, I've read that other ROMs need their own Hboot. Is this the case or have I got this wrong?

Can I simply flash something like the LeeDroid ROM using the 6.93.1002 Hboot I have on the phone now.

If I change the Hboot does the CWM recovery remain?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer.

 

[Hadron]

The stock ROM won't support init.d scripts, which means a2sd+ won't work. But you can install teppic74's version which is almost identical but has an a2sd+ add-on. Pedantically it's the internal data storage, not RAM, that is extended - I mention this only to avoid possible confusion.

Most ROMs do not need a different hboot. You could certainly flash LeeDroid with the current one.

Recovery is entirely separate from the hboot, so you don't need to worry about that.

 

[Jon_LTD]

Not to confuse matters, Hadron but I was told downgrading recovery to CWM 2.5.07 was a good idea for flashing multiple ROMS as its a stable build.
Just querying it as I'm curious.

 

[Hadron]

You are correct. I answered the technical question "does changing hboot change the recovery?", to which the answer is no, changing one does not change the other. However, I would also recommend CWM 2.5.0.7 as more stable and reliable than 4.x.

 

[Jon_LTD]

Thanks for clearing that up. I attempted to flash Teppic's gingerbread rom last week but was unsuccessful and was informed it was probably due to me having CWM 4.x. I've downgraded to said build and it will be interesting to see if I can successfully flash the rom this time. I'll keep you posted some time over the weekend!

All the best!

 

[Hadron]

Good luck - if you have trouble, there will be someone here who can help.

But you should be fine. I've been using CWM 2.5.0.7 for more than a year, and haven't found anything it can't handle.

 

[am9]

Hadron, thanks for the reply.
I think I'm going to try the Leedroid ROM with A2sd+.

....but I have more questions. I've read a lot more pages here and there since posting earlier, some contradicting each other or missing points the other has.

I've partitioned my SD card as 15GB FAT32, 1GB EXT3, both primary.
I've read that the ext3 alignment patch causes more trouble than it solves so best to leave it first time round.
It tells me to do a full wipe, which I presume I can do from CWM. It also tells me to format sdext with CWM. Do both of these actions just apply to my EXT3 partition and leave all my files intact on the FAT32 partition of the SD card?
Then flash the ROM (I know I have to copy that to the root of the SD card first).

Does that sound like everything I have to do or is there anything else?
I see radio mentioned, the same version my phone currently has installed.
Do I have to flash this again and if so before I flash the ROM?

Thanks

 

[Hadron]

We advise people to just use the FAQs from this forum (the "all about rooting" sticky thread - red link in my sig), and certainly not to mix and match stuff from different fora. We (mainly SUroot) try to keep our info up to date, but cannot vouch for other sources.

Your partition scheme sounds fine. The alignment patch's utilty depends on how you partitioned. If you used GParted, it's redundant. Otherwise I'd be inclined to see how things work, but be prepared to use it if you have problems (back up everything first though!).

You can wipe from CWM - the menu item is "full wipe/factory reset" as I recall (I see it often, use it fairly frequently, but can't swear to exact naming!). A full wipe should format sd-ext anyway - you can do so in addition, but that's belt and braces. If your sd-ext is new there will be nothing on it to wipe anyway, so personally I'd think that a simple wipe should suffice. Make sure you have all of your app and data backups done first (Titanium, MyBackup, SMS Backup+, whatever's important to you), and take a backup from recovery (aka nandroid) before wiping anything - if you do something wrong, you want to be able to get things back without data loss.

A factory reset will not affect the fat partition, which is where Titanium backups, nandroid backups etc are kept.

There is a short recipe for flashing a ROM in one of the FAQs (I think the rooting FAQ). But it is basically "back up apps and data, take a nandroid, wipe, flash new ROM, boot, reinstall backup apps, restore apps and app data (but not system settings)" - easier to say it like that when you've done it a few dozen times!

Don't worry about radios. You'll be fine with the one you have, and radio flashes should be handled carefully - because if you mess those up you have a dead phone, and I do mean dead. Don't want to overstate the risks: if you do it carefully it is fine (I've done it many times), but it's really not necessary when flashing a new ROM (unless you are coming from 2.1), and unless you have a reason to do it is best left. I'm currently on the most recent radio, and I don't expect there to be another for the Desire, and I don't mind at all that I can probably forget about radio flashing now

 

[am9]

Thanks again Hadron.
Leedroid flashed and most things restored or my settings applied.
Then, I presume, the smart move would be back all of that up so that I've got an instant re-flash of a complete working, customised ROM.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Hadron]

Yeah, if you are happy with your setup, take another nandroid - that way you have a complete backup of how things are now.

 

[Jon_LTD]

Hi Hadron,

Just to let you know I flashed Teppic's ROM with no issues what-so-ever, so it appears that it was the 4.x recovery image causing the problems. Downgrading it has done the trick to me!

 

[Hadron]

Good to hear