[Droid Incredible General] kirkers:
Hey, Scotty, what a response! You ALMOST are speaking in a different language from mine, but I am doing my best to translate... :laugh:

So, I will break up your reply into parts and see if I can respond with something that makes sense to me (and you too, I hope -- at least that is the goal! :fingers-crossed:

I get that CWM Recovery checks for pre-cooked zip install files (PB31IMG.zip in the case of the HTC Droid Incredible, aka DINC). Usually the text flies by so fast I cannot even read what it says. The difference here was that I deliberately renamed to PB31IMG.zip the Froyo ROM you use for downgrading in your DINC rooting guide. Not only could I read the writing on the wall, so to speak, but they were clearly warnings about "wrong image" and "no image". Recovery then proceeded to load the file and asked me politely if I wanted to install to boot, system, etc. Since I had carefully wiped all those directories prior to trying this install, I figured my only answer could be “yes.” Only in hindsight did that not look like a good idea, but you have lots more to say about that further on, and I will get there. Just let me plod along slowly at this point...

So what you are saying is, this was fine. The problem did not arise at this stage. It is standard procedure to do what I did to force recovery to install any ROM, Radio, kernel, or bootloader (HBOOT) that I want. Please confirm or correct me! :D

This is the VERY FIRST I have read anywhere about a “stock recovery” and the use of the volume-UP rocker key. I tried to do this just now with my rooted CWM Recovery installed, thinking that maybe the stock recovery was still lurking somewhere in the DINC. All I got was three quick vibrations. Then when I tried the usual volume-DOWN key, the normal S-OFF HBOOT popped up. So does that mean when I was in unrooted Froyo, tried to boot into CWM Recovery with the DOWN-volume+power keys and got the red triangle, I could I have rebooted, accessed the stock recovery with the UP-volume+power keys, and it would have installed any PB31IMG.zip file it found, because of security being S-OFF? Could I instead have chosen to restore the nandroid backup to get me back to where I was before I flashed the Froyo RUU? Or would it have simply allowed me to start the DINC normally, without my being able to alter anything?

Well, that’s good hearing Scotty! I only THOUGHT I was under the kosh, as opposed to being REALLY stuck. :silly: The key difference was that the Froyo ROM from your guide was a full ROM Update Utility (RUU) file, complete with ROM, radio, kernel and HBOOT bootloader. When I ran what I thought was “just a ROM” it actually replaced everything. Since security was S-OFF, everything came charging through the gates, so to speak. Right?

The downgrading of HBOOT back to 0.92 was what stopped me from locking or unlocking using the “adb oem” commands, in conjunction with the unlock code BIN file HTC sent me? That accounts for all the ERROR responses I received?

Did HBOOT 0.92 also stop me from reflashing CWM recovery 5.0.2.0 effectively? I renamed it PB31IMG.zip, and got it back just once before the red triangle scenario reasserted itself and flashing with ADB produced nothing but ERROR statements. (I now know the red triangle is the stock recovery, requiring the UP volume + power keys to boot properly)

Since nearly all my ADB and fastboot commands were met with ERROR statements, is this because I was back in HBOOT 0.92 with a stock recovery that is unresponsive to ADB and fastboot, other than to report the device serial #? If that is not the case, then I still can’t see why I got all those ERROR statements. I can’t reproduce the scenario right now, and I’m not sure I even want to try! But I’m eager to read and learn from you …

Going back for a moment to HBOOT’s polite inquiry near the beginning of my walkabout, could I have said “yes” to some of the items listed and “no” to others? If so, what should I have done at that point to prevent overwriting of HBOOT and CWM Recovery?

And lastly, what is “slashing root files” all about? It sounds positively bloody! :eek:

Now I’m worried again, Scotty! :( I am just competent enough to be certain that USB debugging was turned on. Also, I tried this several times at different moments of the day, so the USB cable was therefore definitely unplugged and replugged into the PC and DINC. I also am aware of the difference between fastboot and ADB. I always use the “devices” argument to check to see if the DINC’s serial# appears, which proves I am in the right programme. I am pretty confident about these parts, although feel free to say a quiet word at this point to set me straight.

Correct!

Again, correct. I have the older ROM build 4.06.605.3 with the older radio running right now on the DINC. It makes sense that the radio is matched to this build, and it is very true that my WiFi connectivity and reception are excellent, at least based on my past experience with a MOTO DROID A855 for the past 6 months in the exact same locations.

Are there any REAL advantages to my having the latest radio and HBOOT? Should I bother to try to flash them? Can I do this without losing my programmes, contacts, SMS, calendar, gmail account settings, etc and having to set them all back up using Titanium Backup (plus some old-fashioned elbow grease for the settings)?

Once I get things the way I like them, should I run “unrevoked S-ON” to keep HBOOT from being overwritten? What effect does “S-ON” have on flashing new RUUs (all-in-one packages), ROMs, radios, kernels, recoveries, and/or bootloaders?

I am still uncertain about how to proceed with installing any sort of custom ROM. I know enough to make a nandroid backup using CWM recovery. (I normally use ROM Manager from within the DINC as a friendlier front-end, but I know my way around CWM direct thanks to your guide.) I am still unclear if the backup is like a cloned disk image would be in the PC world, or if it just preserves certain things but not others.

If a nandroid is a clone, then I would say I must reinstall apps and settings for each custom ROM I install.

If a nandroid is just apps and settings, then I should restore it AFTER installing an RUU or a ROM.

Which one is true?

What about installing these sorts of things -- radios, kernels, recoveries and HBOOT bootloaders? Can some or all of these be swapped in and out without disturbing the ROM, apps and settings?

I don’t QUITE have a firm grip on this yet, but with a little more instruction from you, Scotty, I’m confident that I’m just one or two steps away! (BTW, does “OP” stand for original post, and “AF” stand for Android Forums?)

Would it be easier for you if I cross-posted somewhere else? (I am a member of Android Forums as well – in fact, I first got hold of your guide on that site.)

Cheers!