[Xperia Arc General] sandroidnz01:
Guys,I am not too new in this social forum dedicated to hacking mobile devices but I am to computers and computer jargon.

We,new comers get excited when reading posts saying I did this,I did that.Worked like a charm,I tweaked this I tweaked that.I am in control of my device,on Gingerbread now my device is on JellyBean.Awesome.

But they were able to have this much of control over their device because they know something which we, are not certain off.

Using their computers and also knowing their device.

One of the fundamental rules in Forum XDA is reading,reading and more reading.And yet there are so many who screw up.It is said that to do any stuff,you must follow the instructions given by the developers to the letter and yet nothing is smooth as it should be.

Lack of absorbing instructions.

Or just can't understand clearly.

Well,it's about the same.You can read,read and read but when it comes down to actually doing it,you would definitely have to use a desktop or a laptop.

That's when the ordeal begins.Did it say this,to press this or do this.Oh bugger,I should not have done that.

F**k,F**K,F**k,shi*,My phones got boot loops,its not opening,Cant get to open my sweet beautiful Xperia Arc/S,Neo/Neo V/Pro/Mini Pro........I'm pricked.

Sorry,bricked my device.Crying!!!!!

[This above anxieties was well documented/experienced by yours truly) So don't nobody say I'm pointing my index finger at you!

Everyday,there are thousands getting hold of a mobile device,new and used,young and old-like me.And those who read magazines or who have friends who read magazines would have heard that one could really take charge of the devices that one owns and be a master of it.But one also must understand and navigate a computer,haha.

So ,I am going to start the ball rolling and everyone is invited to add on this thread.It is not specifically designed to just advice.But a detailed advice would be welcomed.You know this is for newcomers and people who are not well versed in using the computers.So a detailed as and example:

You need to flash this firmware

4.1.B.0.587.

You need:

1)Flashtool-download from here----

2)Firmware-download from here----

Once done downloading,run flashtool in your computer it can be located in 2 places either in downloads or C:\.Now,right click on it and there will be a prompt WinZip and if you are using 7zip it will also be within WinZip asking you where to extract the file to.Extract it to the same page.

Now after the extraction you will see a folder pop up in the page with the same name minus the .exe.Double click on it,you will see a bunch of files.We are only interested in 2.

Drivers-double click on this.There will be a prompt.Press install.Then there will be a couple of more prompts in unison just keep on pressing next,next and press finish when the last prompts pops up.All in all, there will be 4 prompts.I think,I will check.

What this does is linking your device with the computer.Now,this file will open and in it you will find your device name,tick in the box next to your device.Scroll down to the bottom there will be flashtool and flashmode.Tick the boxes beside both.You are done here for now.

Press back on page.You will come back to earlier page.In here there is a file named Firmware.

Click and open it.Inside you will find x10 firmware.This is because the creator of this tool,Bin4ry and Androxyde initially created this tool for the x10 device,I think.Delete this.I had left this there before but after inserting another firmware in another column in the page it will read kernel.sin adsp.sin,kernel and stuff.

Was confused.So I only put one at a time.Should be easier that way.

Leaving it just like this now go and download the 4.1.B.0.587 if you haven't already.

Its always good to prepare everything needed.Just say for argument sake you have already done that.And it is in your download section.

The file will also be a zipped file.Unzip it,like you did with flashtool earlier and now you will have another folder with the same name.

Double click on the folder.There will be another file,click one more time on it, a pagination indicating it is the said file only now it will read as a .FTF file.This is what you need.

Press right click,a window will pop up,as though you didn't know this already,right click on it then copy or cut.

Go back to earlier page,click on firmware folder again and right click and press paste.The firmware is magically transferred here.Sweet.

Now its almost time.Get your USB cable ready.See that your device is at least 70% full.For whatever reason you are connecting your phone to the computer always backup your contacts,call logs,mail.

Whatever that needs to be sync with another remote destination let it sync.This way you can retrieve your stuff if something goes wrong.And you loose everything on your SDcard.But with this very detailed step by step guidance and if you still manage to screw up."Youve got a BIG problem with navigating on a computer.

"Google sync is the best for contacts, call logs and mail.Photos and collection of movies,videos and MP3s you pirated, I would say,your computer.

Also a friendly advice don't put too much hope of retrieving from apps which say that you can backup to.When everything goes,everything goes,even your backup app.Now back to business at hand.

Get your cable,checked

Phone at 70% charged or more,

checked.

Open flashtool,this is where?In your C drive, C:\flashtool and flashtool the folder,double click the folder,bunch of files again.

Double click on Driver prompts,run it,it will open up,again tick on the box beside your device,flashtool and flashmode.Done.

Go back to earlier page,this time click on firmware again,just to check if the firmware that you cut/copy pasted is still there.Present.

Good.

Go back one page,now,towards the bottom of the page there will be flashtoolx86(this is for windows xp if you are using a windowsXP 32bit.You know what you are using,don't you?)And flashtoolx64(this for windows7 and x64bit computers)Click on this,only one.And a reduced size page will appear.This is the main page of flashtool.

Click on the lightning icon another page will appear.This time your firmware that you cut/copy and pasted earlier will appear.

Mind you this detailed tutorial is only for flashing and as an example.

Now,there are 3 coloums at the extreme right of the page.Non of the boxes must he ticked/checked.

Make sure of this,if you don't want to send out PMs to members who might be just about to hit the sack with their partners.

There are some nice members out there as there are others.

Right,coming back,at the bottom

of the page there is a box and beside the box is this line,no final

verification.

Tick only this box and press OK.On the screen you will see an illustration of a USB cable putting in and pulling out and a instruction which says to power off the device.

But wait.You are about to connect your phone to a computer.As such,you must enable USB Debugging in your device.

You can do this by going into your phone Settings>Developer>tick/check the box beside USB Debugging.

Then go into Security>and tick/check the box beside Unknown Sources and finally go back also in Settings>Xperia>Connectivity there will be two Instructions.

One to connect with PC Companion which will have a box beside it.We don't need that but the other without a box.Just press on it a prompt will appear.There will be 2 options.One says MTP,we don't need this too the other we definitely need MSC.Press on MSC.

The tiny l.e.d light will come on.Done.Now your phone is prepped up to connect to the pc.

Switch off your phone.Press the back button,connect one end of the USB cable to your phone still pressing the back button and the other to your computer.

Do not take your fingers off that back button.The l.e.d.light near the volume button will turn green.Now click on the lightning icon again.

The next page with the firmware will appear again.Where's your finger,good,keep on pressing the back button.

Go through the boxes on your extreme right to see none of the boxes are ticked/checked.Go to the bottom now tick/check the box beside No verification.And press OK.

Another page will come on,and some writtings will start appearing on its on.You can now release your fingers from pressing the back button.

And you will see the words at the bottom of the page flashing finished.And then some more.So read and look for the word.Unplug your device.You have done flashing.

Some might think that this is a total waste of time.No one in their correct mind need to do this lenghtly whatever.But to be honest,every hiccup mentioned above occurred to me.

My grasp of understanding computer jargon and navigating on a computer was zilch.And I had a hard time understanding.

Not that I've become and expert,no.

Very very far from it.But I've had this xperia arc since early 2012 and only managed to Root and Unlocked the bootloader recently.

I am always reading and copying how tos and still failed applying a custom Rom.Go figure.

This might help one person or two who knows.So long as it helps.

Whatever I have written above are my experiences.Thank you all at xda for giving me this push to pursue learning computers and also of my device this very late in my life.

Note:Moderators kindly do not close this thread.

Guys,please if this thread stays on,kindly,if you don't mind,just add.I will be adding more in the future.TQ.