[HTC Titan] berrywr:
Stuck on SPL2.5.160015.3? HSPL is still achievable

This is not a perfect edited document. I will edit this document in the days ahead but I wanted to get this out after spending 4 nights in a row with this problem and reading every thread on here in regards to this problem. If...if...your SPL will not downgrade, it is not the end of the world. You may also think that seeing the words "Entering USB Host Mode" and staring at it for a solid 10 minutes is a failure it is not. I changed the flashable file names from ETERIMG to ETERDIAG and loaded them to a PNY 4GB thumb drive using the Gold Card method and it worked. I realize the following is long and somewhat wordy but I wanted to layout a realistic picture of what I did. The bottom line is you're not dead if you think you're stuck in SPL2.5 Hell. Forget RUU'g any of this, it's Gold card all the way; yes, HSPL must be done in bootloader mode and for the bazillionth time this process has zero to do with the HTC Titan II (Radiant).

HTC Titan I (Eternity) Guide to Common Sense Flashing

1.	I said, the HTC Titan I, the Eternity!!! I did not say the HTC Titan II, the Radiant and/or the rumored HTC Titan III, the Zenith!!!

2.	It is an illusion if any of you think that flashing anything via RUU will work until “the” last step which is HSPL; it’s a gold card all the way.

3.	When I say, “ETERIMG” and “ETERDIAG” in regard to naming your gold card files; you will not add the following characters “.nbh” to the end of these file names; the files are downloaded in compressed format (as of this typing) from File Factory - http://www.filefactory.com/f/db553db625fe2273/ . They are either -

a.	IMG_Eternity_HTC_Europe_1.09.401.02_Radio_16.23.02.09_A… (Double check your device's radio, it should be 16 at this stage)

or

b.	IMG_Eternity_Cingular_US_1.10.502.04_Radio_16.23.02.26_...(Double check your device's radio, it should be 16 at this stage and yes, I said that twice !)

4.	My success came with using a PNY 4GB USB (Flash or Thumb) Drive that comes in two to a set at Wal-Mart; they are red and dark blue in the pack; $12. My Y-cable was bought from Amazon.com. The red end supplies the power; it doesn’t matter whether you plug it end to your computer or to your cellphone’s USB power supply or directly into the outlet if you have so equipped one of your outlets courtesy of one that is wired directly into what use to be a wall outlet. The black end will require a USB Gender Change Adapter; they’re dirt cheap over at eBay or Amazon.com.

5.	My Sun-Pak 72-in-1 is a multi-card reader and like the instructions located at http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1744253 . I can confirm you’re wasting your time trying to use this with your Y-cable. I opted not to use it with copying my files to the thumb drive.

6.	I did buy new a Nokia 1GB microSD which came with a SD adapter and a (black and red) plastic adapter that will plug directly into the USB 2.0 port on your computer. While it held up, it did work; however in the end I found the PNY thumb drive to be the easiest and the fastest to work with going between the computer and the Y-cable. Both the microSD with adapter and PNY thumb drive worked, my point the thumb drive is sturdier and more reliable in my fun this week.

7.	Referring back to #3, I had success with both ROMs but not before my patience were severely tried. I own two Titan I (Eternity) devices. Initially, I successfully used the Cingular 1.10 ROM on one device. The filename throughout that process was “ETERIMG” (minus the quotes…7 characters, that’s it!)

8.	My Gold Card came from the above web site in #5. You will “quick format” your microSD or thumb drive in FAT32 and 4096 cluster size. I named my card(s) “Goldcard”. You will use your computer’s Windows/File Explorer to do this. Once formatted you will not have to do so again; simply delete the file(s) through each stage of the process and copy them back.

9.	I strongly suggest you take off whatever protects your device, you will be doing a lot of pulling the battery to power off/on your device; if you think your fingers can hit those tiny little buttons without your device shell, you’re a better person than me!

a.	To “Entering USB Host Mode” – you will press down the Volume Down rocker and Camera button at the same time and while pressed down you will next put your finger on the power button and hold it there until the white screen displays and will immediately take your finger off the power button. You device will bring up the bootloader screen immediately followed by “Entering USB Host Mode.” The screen will be a grayish-white with blue letters.

b.	To enter Bootloader where you will become intimate with the SPL – you will hold down the Volume Up/Down rocker together and you will next put your finger on the power button and hold it there until the white screen displays and will immediately remove your finger. You are in a world of hurt in what all of us affectionately call the “brick” if this page doesn’t load.

10.	I do not need to remind y’all to charge your battery; this process takes way longer than flashing custom ROMs.

11.	When those folks say read the instructions carefully, that’s exactly what they mean. As you enjoy this wonderful experience that once done you will never miss or do again, you will be introduce to this little word we call “patience.” You’re going to need a lot of patience and a supporting spouse if you're so blessed.

12.	My first device went off without a hitch; my second device took 4 days of re-reading every thread, every little tidbit of advice throughout much of the WP7 pages regardless of device but NuttyBuddy turned me on to something I missed while I was enjoying a string of strike outs – ETERDIAG (8 characters…that’s it). My devices gave me two entirely different experiences but in the end, solvable; your situation may require you to rename your files like mine, but stay with the pattern through steps 1 and 2 of the goldcard joy and jollies.

13.	Like many, my SPL refused to downgrade. Forget HTC’s update SPL2.6! I read threads where there were discussion about why it mattered or didn't mattered. It occurred to me the problem was not the SPL steadfastly not budging; it was whether my device at initial OS startup read HTC Titan x310e or for four days read HTC Titan P139100 and once I got x310e the next step was did it matter if it read SPL2.5 and not 1.09 or 1.10. Later it would not matter.

14.	I retraced all my steps and following NuttyBuddy’s advice to change the filename from ETERIMG to ETERDIAG; something wonderful happened as I was making notes. My device is sitting on the arm of my couch, I didn’t want to touch or move or disrupt it in any way.

a.	I renamed and copied the Eternity 1.09 ROM to my thumb drive, set up the device to say “Entering USB Host Mode” and exactly as the debrand instructions imply; the device restarts and re-enters USB Host Mode and a parade of yellow “>*>*>*…” march through the screen; eight rows deep.

b.	The words “Update Successful, UPDATE COMPLETED” pop up, say one HAIL MARY, pull the battery out and pop it back in and hit the power button and look for those magic words “x310e”. I follow the prompts and finally when my tile screen is up, I immediately head over to settings and a couple of menu later I read, not SPL 1.09 but like many that stubborn SPL2.5.160015.3 (137079).

c.	Up until my device read “x310e” it had read ‘P139100”. I made up my mind what mattered was not the words "P139100" but "x310e" and proceeded forward.

d.	I delete the Eternity 1.09 file from my thumb drive; I rename and copy the .nbh file within DFT’s SPL2.05 folder, a 24 megabyte file to “ETERDIAG” not ETERIMG; don’t ask me why, but this matters. If you begin this whole process with ETERDIAG, this next step must be identical. Forget the Chinese diagnostic version of this, I looked it up, it’s a 283K file. The key here is the filename.

e.	Because the file is 24 megs, this won’t take long except right at the beginning. This step will do the exact same thing as the Eternity/Cingular ROM; it will restart on its own and the waiting and patience begins. When I was about to write off this step as a failure, the device came to life and loaded the file. Stunned and in disbelief, I said, what the hell, restarted the device in bootloader mode, made sure Zune was running, pulled up DFT’s HSPL folder on my computer followed the prompts and my four day torture was over; “CottulaH” and those 4 beautiful letters “HSPL”.

f.	I immediately chased down my Windows Phone 7.8.8858 custom ROM and 10 minutes later, my 4 days of torture were over. Like many, I was stuck on the belief my SPL had to read 1.09 or 1.10; it doesn’t; the key is whatever 1.09/1.10 ROM you use in the beginning does in fact run on the device; forget that the SPL reads 2.5, proceed to DFT’s flashing of SPL2.05 file which will also read SPL2.5 which I realize is a bit confusing to look at.

15.	I can only tell you that the difference on my second device was the filename change and not worrying about the SPL downgrade.

16.	I will edit these steps later and will make them available via PM and a post on the debrand thread. The file was originally written with Word 2010.

17.	The bottom line is be patient with the device, what worked on my wife’s device did not work on my device but tweaking the steps along the way and changing the filename from ETERIMG to ETERDIAG and not expecting a downgrade in the SPL got the job done. The Gold card method works. When I think about how many times I have flashed my Rhodium and HD2, I think about the Titan I and it does not have an expandable microSD card slot. When I got past the differences, it pretty much felt like the same experience despite the nuances in each device. The HD2 is a dream to flash; why Microsoft has made this harder than it has to be, I do not know.

18.	Good luck and don’t give up! Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and remember it’s between you, your device, your wife and lady luck if you attempt this procedure. Off the record, at any step along the way, I never lost the capability to program load; I had SPL2.5 the entire way until right at the end and finally HSPL2.5.