[HTC EVO 3D] cobraboy85:
Before I begin, I will say that there is no hostility intended in this thread AT ALL. It’s just how I convey intense anger. Lulz.. jk

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can’t count how many times I have read somewhere about somebody having some random ass issue with rom “x” and not a single person besides them is having said issue.

I understand the inconvenience in wiping data, contacts, apps, all that. But let’s be srsly. How much more annoying is it, and frustrating, to sit there in your messy room in your mother’s basement trying to watch porn all stressed out because your phone won’t connect drivers to your computer or connect to 4G? srsly. And how much more annoying is it for everybody else to have to listen to your whiny ass in the thread of said rom? I can tell you, Very. But I, like many, will still offer you help, always. So here it is, some pre-help!... for those of you who love flashing custom roms on your E3D.

First of all, I will say this… download the synergy superwipe/format tool. It’s a zip file. If you can’t find it, it’s in the development section in the thread titled “SYNERGY”… i had to tell you where it was, because i knew somebody would chime in here "hAlp, where can i haz it!?!"... never fails.

This should be used EVERY time you install a full ROM. Whether or not the dev’s tell you to wipe data or not, they always will recommend it because they know this is the only way to ensure a clean, install. So have this handy on your SD card. Because if you are a rom flashing whore like me, you will need it.

And for the record, I have had ZERO problems with EVERY rom I have installed on my E3D, with the exception of the bugs that are clearly stated in the OP of the rom’s thread. If you are popping up random little glitches, it is likely something you are doing wrong. Just sayin.

So let’s get started with the actual “guide” here… we’ll make this short and sweet. I will give you different scenarios too, ie flashing only a rom, a rom with a kernel, a rom with some cosmetic mods (battery indicator zip, etc.), and a rom with a kernel on top of it AND some cosmetic “theme” .zips, and maybe even a flashable boot animation. The current set up I am running is the steel rom, with the bc kernel, a boot animation, and a battery indicator change (thanks scrosler for that! Its dope as ****). K, here we go. Pay attention…

1. First of all, before you flash ANY rom, make a back up of your data and apps, I prefer myback up root or pro simply because I have never had a single issue with this app in the 9 months I have been rooting my phones. I would recommend this app to anybody. Also, if you are using windows, after you download your rom right click on the zip file, select “properties” and then select “unblock” and then “apply” and the “ok”… now place the .zip on the root of your sd card. I have had problems with roms not flashing properly when I forget to do this. So do it, just for peace of mind. Everything you intend on flashing, should be on your SD card before you begin.

2. Boot to recovery

3. Wipe (in this order) cache partition, dalvik cache, and data/factory reset. Do all of those TWICE, just to be thorough.

4. Flash the synergy superwipe, your phone will reboot itself into recovery when completed.

5. Flash your rom. If the rom has a kernel included, boot up the phone – even if you intend on flashing a different kernel, boot up the phone. The only time you should flash kernel right on top of a rom is if the rom does not include one... ok, phone boots, nowdDo all your google **** blah blah, maybe browse the internet a bit, verify that some basic things are functioning properly. This helps you verify that the ROM itself isn’t causing issue “x” after you flash a kernel or some other bull**** in the next few steps. We do process of elimination as we install, and prepare for troubleshooting by collecting useful information beforehand. This way, you have some information as to why something is not working properly if something is not working properly. Make sense? Thought so.

6. If you are going to flash a kernel on top of it, proceed to this step. After you have booted the phone successfully, power down to recovery mode again (I ****ing love recovery by the way, it’s a ****ing bios on my phone)… and again, you will want to clear cache partition and dalvik cache, in that order. After it is done successfully, go ahead and flash your kernel. After that is done, boot to system. If you get some kind of error after this point that you did not experience earlier, you can safely assume one of these 3 things, in this order… you got a bad download when downloading your kernel (re-download, and start over at step 1, annoying I know, but the only way to ensure proper install, again. Patience pays with these devices as they can be extremely tempermental.), something is actually faulty in the kernel build (you should be reading other’s experience with said software anyways, so you know what to expect), or your phone just doesn’t ****ing like you (this happens sometimes, it’s nothing personal.)

7. Assuming your phone has booted properly (****ing yayyyy) you may now proceed to this step (and this step can also replace step 6 if you are not flashing a kernel). Boot down to recovery again, clear cache, clear dalvik… you see the pattern here… flash your other little ****. For example, when I installed the steel rom with the bc kern, the battery mod, and the boot ani’… I followed this guide pretty much to the T. Anyways, I will use that as an example… after cache and dalvik cache are cleared, flash your battery icon, then right on top of that, flash your boot ani’.

8. Boot to system. You are now running a bastardized rom with a 99% chance of it running ABSOLUTELY flawless.

Furthermore, sometimes I will even run a rom for a couple days before proceeding to flash a kernel on top of it. This is simply to have useful information if a problem arises mid-use. For example, if I am running a rom for a week with zero issues, then flash a kernel, and immediately start getting random reboots, disconnected interwebz, or some other odd issue that pops up out of nowhere, I can safely assume it was something I recently changed (something I flashed). So again, either I got a bad download, or there is a design/programming issue. This will allow me to better pinpoint root cause of bugs that pop up on my hAxor3d evo.

Anyways, that’s about all I can think of for now. The purpose of this is really to help some of you learn how to better troubleshoot problems yourself before asking, if you would rather ask, that’s fine really. It’s just always better to learn.

Hopefully some of you find this useful, and if there is anything else somebody feels should be added, please do so, and I will edit the thread accordingly.

Thanks,

CB