[Wildfire General] usaff22:
Ok, basically this is a complete guide in which it explains (in high detail, excellent for noobs) how to:

De-brand your phone(Downgrade the HBOOT version down to 1.01.0001)

Root (Using Revolutionary S-OFF and SuperOneClick)

Flash a new ROM (In the guide we will be using Cyanogenmod 7.1, also provided)

The good thing about the guide is that almost all, if not all the files and software are provided in the pack. It also includes the guide itself. If you want the simple text version of the guide, just ask and I will upload it. You will need 7zip or WinRAR to extract the pack with all the files in it. The guide is designed for Windows 7 and Vista although XP might work (I'm not sure though, and if you have Linux you're probably a dev and can find the files on the internet yourself :) ) If you have any questions feel free to ask :)

Head over here to download the pack.

EDIT: Some people have requested the guide online. So here it is:

How to de-brand, root and flash your phone!

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Here is a dictionary if I use any abbreviations you don't understand.

http://goo.gl/nYk5v

BY ROOTING YOU WILL KILL YOUR WARRANTY, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU BRICK YOUR PHONE (MAKE IT SO THAT IT DOESNT WORK AT ALL)

The following will delete all your apps and contacts as you will factory restore it. If you want to keep your contacts, back them up to your SIM card now. If you want to back up your apps so you can restore them once you have flashed, I suggest using an app called "Titanium Backup" on the Android Market if you don’t want to lose your apps.

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Pre-requisites:​

1. Go into the zip you just downloaded, and extract it using a program like WinRAR or 7zip to somewhere you will remember like your desktop. I will be referring to this folder by "the package"

2. Remove your Micro SD card from your phone. Then insert the Micro SD card into a card reader, and insert the card reader into your computer. Or, if you don't have a card reader, mount your phone as storage. Either way, when you can see the SD card on the computer, format the SD card to FAT32 format (Right click on SD card, format and then select FAT32 and format).

3. On your computer, install the latest version of HTC Sync and then uninstall it. Also uninstall any programs that might try and send something to your phone like DoubleTwist. Do not uninstall anything else.

4. On your phone go to Settings > Connect to PC > Default connection type and press "Charge only". Then untick "Ask Me". Then go back to Settings > Applications > Development and tick "USB Debugging".

5. Connect your phone to your computer with a USB Cable.

6. Boot into the HBOOT (or bootloader) menu by turning off your phone and then holding down the buttons POWER and VOLUME DOWN together at the same time. If it shows the HTC screen, retry until it shows the HBOOT screen with the Androids on skateboards. To exit this screen after Step 8, using the VOLUME DOWN and VOLUME UP keys to go up and POWER to select, go into FASTBOOT and then select REBOOT.

7. Your computer will search for software and will not find it. So go to Device Manager on your computer, double click on Other devices (if Android 1.0 is not already there, which it should be). Right click on Android 1.0 and click "Update Driver Software" and click "Browse my computer for driver software". Click on "Browse" and then browse to the "Android USB Driver" in the package we downloaded in step 1. Then click "Ok" and then "Next". Once this is done, proceed to step 8.

8. If your HBOOT number is 1.01.0001, skip to step 17 in ROOTING. If it is 1.01.0002, proceed to step 9 in DE-BRANDING.

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DE-BRANDING​

9. Go into the folder you extracted in step 4 and go into the folder "buzzdowngrade". Run the step1.bat file without running as administrator. It may give you the following errors:

'adb' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

and/or

'GoldCardTool.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

Ignore these errors (Hopefully they won't come up though) . What is most important is if it says " Step 1 is done, continue with Step 2. " somewhere.

10. Then mount your phone like you did in step 2 although this time you don’t need to format it.

11. Right-click on the Gold Card tool and click "Run as administrator". Then click Get CID. If it says "Failed to get CID", untick and then tick "USB Debugging" in Settings > Applications. If it still fails, re-do the first sentence of Step 4. Copy the CID to your clipboard. Do not close this window.

12. Go to http://goo.gl/ZGsG4. Paste your CID into the box where it says "SD Card Serial". This is not the serial number in Step 11. Fill out the rest of the form and click "Download Goldcard".

13. Go back to the Gold Card tool window, and click "Load GoldCard.img". Select the file you downloaded in Step 11. Then click "Patch MMC". You can close the window once it finishes.

14. Once it finishes, mount your phone as storage. You should have gotten used to this by now!

15. Double click step2.bat. Once this finishes, you have now successfully de-branded your phone! We are not finished rooting or flashing, yet.

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ROOTING​

16. On your phone go to Settings > About phone > Phone Identity. Somewhere in there you will find a serial number for your phone like HTXXETDXXXXX. Copy this serial no. down into a notepad document.

17. Go to http://goo.gl/xRSOH. Click "Download for Windows" and extract the file to your desktop. Or, there is already a working Revolutionary inside the package- you can just do Step 18 with the files in the Revolutionary folder.

18. A form to receive a beta key will now appear. Select "Windows" as the operating system obviously, "HTC Wildfire" and "1.01.0001” because it will be the only option. In the "Serial number" text box, enter the serial number you got in Step 16. Then click "Generate key". You will now receive your beta key. If it is not already highlighted, highlight it and press CTRL + C on your keyboard. This will copy the beta key to your clipboard.

19. Go into the folder that you extracted in step 16. Right-click on revolutionary or revolutionary.exe file and click "Run as administrator". If it cannot find your device, close the window and try again.

20. It may ask if you want it to flash Clockworkmod Recovery. I suggest this as the stock recovery isn't that good. But it is not necessary and you may choose not to if you wish.

21. You should successfully have S-OFF! Boot into the HBOOT menu like you did in Step 6 and check it says Revolutionary S-OFF at the top of the screen. Reboot your phone back to normal, also taught in Step 6.

22. Your phone should still be on "Charge only", with an unticked "Ask me" box and a ticked "USB Debugging" box in the Applications menu. If it isn't, re-do Step 4.

23. Go into the package you downloaded in Step 1. Go into the SuperOneClick folder and right-click the SuperOneClick or SuperOneClick.exe file and click "Properties". Go into the "Compatibility" tab and tick "Run this program in compatibility mode for:” If it isn't already selected, select "Windows XP (Service Pack 3) from the dropdown menu. Then click "Ok".

24. Right-click that same file, and click "Run as administrator".

25. When the program starts and your phone is connected to your computer, click "Root". If the program stops responding, repeat Step 24. If it stops responding again, try double-clicking the file instead of right-clicking in Step 24. Do not “Shell root” as this means you root your phone for one start-up, and when you shut down the phone it will be un-rooted again. Plus, we can always un-root (although not in this guide, there are many un-rooting guides, I can give you some at the bottom of this guide).

26. If it asks to install Busybox, click yes.

27. Once it finishes, you are should be rooted! It should ask at the end to check if your phone is rooted. Click yes, and if it says TRUE, you are rooted! Another way to check is to look for "Superuser" in your App Drawer.

EDIT: People who are having issues with SuperOneClick freezing etc, use the following method:

1. Download this zip.

2. Flash it in ClockWorkMod (HBOOT>Recovery>Install Zip From SD Card>Choose Zip from SD Card

3. Reboot.

You're rooted without SuperOneClick!

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FLASHING A NEW ROM​

We will now flash a new ROM. I recommend Cyanogenmod as it has Android 2.3, live wallpapers (I know some of you want this) and doesn't have many bugs (problems).

28. Go to the Cyanogenmod website. Navigate to "Devices" and click on "HTC Wildfire" and the click on "Stable mod". Download the zip file at the top of the list. Do not extract it. Or, alternatively, the current (as of 22/11/2011) version (7.1.0.1) of Cyanogenmod 7 is in the package. You can use this instead.

29. Move the zip file you downloaded in Step 28 to the root of your SD card. Google what this means if you don’t understand.

30. Boot into the HBOOT menu. You should now be an expert at this! Go down and select "Recovery"

31. It should go into Revolutionary Clockworkmod Recovery 4.0.1.4. Select "Backup and restore" from the list navigating with the volume up, down and pressing on the trackball to select. If you choose the wrong section, press back on your phone's soft key. Then click "Backup" from the list. The phone should then back up all the data. Once it finishes backing up, if it hasn’t gone to the main menu already, press the back soft key to get to the main recovery menu. Then select “wipe data/factory reset”, “yes – delete all user data” and then once that finishes, select “wipe cache partition” and once again “yes – wipe cache”. If it asks what cache you want to wipe, select all of them.

32. Once this finishes, click “install zip from SD card” and select the zip file you moved in Step 29. Then, once again click “yes” once prompted.

33. Then, once it finishes, select “reboot system now”. It will then boot into Android 2.3!

The Android Market is not installed on your phone by default. Go to Step 34 if you want the Android Market on your phone. Otherwise, if you don’t want it, you have successfully flashed your phone!

34. Move the gapps zip file from the package to the root of your SD card. Do not extract it. Your phone should still be mounted, but if it isn’t mount it.

35. Reboot into the HBOOT menu, and then go into the Recovery menu.

36. This time you do not need to delete all your data or cache. Just “install zip from SD card”, select the gapps zip file, and, when prompted, click yes. Reboot and your phone should have the latest Android Market. From here you can download Gmail and all the usual Google Apps.

Your phone is now rooted and flashed! You also have the latest Android Market.​

The End

Credits to 42turkeys on the XDA Developers forum for his excellent guide on rooting and flashing the HTC Wildfire. His guide also taught me a lot about customizing phones!

Also thanks to ieftm for teaching me about GoldCardTool