[Droid Incredible General] kirkers:
Can't post yet in Developers, but wanted to share this, since I read that a number of people are literally being tormented by their HTC Droid Incredible (DINC) phones because of a "feature" in the latest (and likely final) OTA stock update to build 4.08.605.15 710RD. The OTA contains a script to force the phone to reboot and rebuild certain files and databases overnight when activity with the phone is anticipated to be minimized. Problems arose when the rebuilding process repeatedly failed to complete, forcing the phone to reboot repeatedly over a series of nights. I know this happened to most of you back in June and July, but the OTA was pushed to me just recently (I got a used DINC a couple of weeks ago) so this could still be affecting people.

My DINC is rooted so I did not accept the OTA and experience the problem, but I really sympathise with folks being awakened at 02h00 night after night by the harsh "DROID" audio accompanying the standard VZW boot animation as it repeatedly rebooted for nearly 3 hours (or until exasperated owners pulled the battery -- which only made things worse!). Also, I happen to find the audio rather offensive at any time of day. Perhaps others do as well, even without this nasty nightime experience, and would like to eliminate it -- or just possibly substitute something else.

There are plenty of apps and scripts out there to help replace the boot video animation, but I have not come across an automated method of removing or changing the audio. (The audio is not integrated, because the "video" is actually a series of pictures, not unlike the sort of video created by flipping through a page-book animation full of still pictures that create the illusion of movement. It only looks high-tech because of the remarkable speed at which even a smartphone processor can "flip" the pages)

For those of you who do not visit the developers portion of XDA or other similar sites, here is a simple (but admittedly technical) fix.

You will need to be rooted. If you are not already so, this might be a good time to give it a try, since the DINC has surely reached the end of its supported lifespan, and is likely well past any warranty that might be invalidated by performing a root. Search the web and pick your favourite method to follow. Mine is the guide posted by Scotty85 here at XDA:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1600904

Once rooting is done, all you need is a good file manager capable of gaining "superuser permissions" (one of the benefits of rooting includes the installation of a superuser app),. I recommend ES File Manager, but there are ones such as Astro and plenty more to suit any taste. For those who want a file manager designed especially for rooted phones, you can pay a little bit for the Root Explorer app. All you need to do after opening the file manager of your choice is to allow it to receive the superuser permissions. After that, it will be able to see anything in the Android setup. That's why it's called super-user!

When you open the file manager, you will probably find yourself looking at all the files on your SD card (/sdcard/), if like nearly everyone you have one installed. Locate the "up one level" button in the menu or on the screen, and touch it to go to the root of your entire DINC. There you will find in the list or collection of folder icons a directory named /system. Touch it to open it, and then touch the following directories as they appear on-screen:

/customize

/resource

Once you are inside the /resource directory, you will see lots of picture and video files. Amongst them is a single .mp3 audio file with the following name:

VZW_Droid.mp3

That is the one making all the noise at boot time!

Hold your thumb down on top of the file's icon until a list of options pops up.

I suggest you rename it with an extra extension on the right end of the file name. That way, if you change your mind and want to revive it, all you have to do is remove the suffix you are adding now.

For example, this is what I did:

VZW_Droid.mp3.ORIGINAL

That's all there is to it! Close the file manager. Restart your phone if you like, to make sure that the phone now boots silently. I promise you it will!

There is an opportunity here to substitute any MP3 audio file you like (but keep it brief - 30-45 seconds at most) . Simply put it in the same location where you found the Droid audio file, and rename it VZW_Drois.mp3. That way, the boot programming will invoke the audio at the right time.

I have tested the silent approach and using substitute audio, and they both work as expected in my DINC.

Sorry this was not more timely for you folks who ended up locking your DINC in the closet (or worse!) earlier this summer, but you can still give yourself some peace and quiet -- or even a bit of nice music to boot by if you like. :laugh:

Cheers! :)