[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam ROM Development] mattk_r:
This is a work in progress - please post info / corrections as necessary - and supporting detail!!!

Browsing through the Wiki and not finding what I needed, I hoped to pool together the common knowledge floating around and put together a process for working with the extended rom on our Hermes.

While unlocking/viewing the extended rom is well documented - opening, editing, and launching the extended rom image contents are not - or so my searching has reveiled (or not reveiled ;)).

So far, this is what I have got together / know:

The extended rom, extracted from a dump, is an .nb image. It contains the following files:

AutoRun.exe 'installs the applications

Config.txt 'determines what gets installed / path to file

Assorted cabs to be installed per the Config.txt

Here is an example of an extended rom Config.txt:

LOCK:Enabled

CAB: \Extended_ROM\C_Cingular_GoodEmail_081606.sa.CAB

CAB: \Extended_ROM\C_getmail.htc8525.cab

CAB: \Extended_ROM\C_HSDPA_Wirelss_Modem_Stall.cab

CAB: \Extended_ROM\C_GetTeleNav.CAB

CAB: \Extended_ROM\MT_PC_Hermes_PTT_REG_070129.CAB

CAB: \Extended_ROM\PP_PIE_Default.CAB

CAB: \Extended_ROM\ShortString_Keypad_XML.CAB

CAB: \Extended_ROM\SMS_Setting_07Jun06.CAB

CAB: \Extended_ROM\SPM_Fix_ITS#2990.cab

CAB: \Extended_ROM\PP_XpressMail_launchCamera.cab

CAB: \Extended_ROM\ppcquickstart_QVGA.PPC_Draft_11-17.CAB

CAB: \Extended_ROM\ST_Audio216Patch_20070409.CAB

CAB: \Storage Card\ExtROM\Adobe_Flash_Lite_2.1.cab

CAB: \Storage Card\ExtROM\MsPacMan.cab

LOCK: Disabled 'space added to display properly

RST: Reset

Note that I'm running installs from both the extended rom and the storage card. This prevents the installation file (cab) from staying in the windows directory after installation. In theory, you could move everything to the storage card if you wanted to use the extended rom space for main storage as in the Big Storage ROM that bepe put out.

Here is a PreConfig file for comparison:

LOCK:Enabled

EXEC:\Windows\SetHSDPA.exe /Enable

CAB: \Windows\CM_Mapping_1.29.502.2.CAB

CAB: \Windows\A2DPFix.CAB

CAB: \Windows\ATIFix.cab

CAB: \Windows\restoreHiddenProxy4CWS_0522.cab

XML: \Windows\MP_MMS3.5_CWS_Hermes_070328.xml

XML: \Windows\PP_Generic_ConnSetting_Hermes_CWS.xml

XML: \Windows\PP_Other_Conn_Hermes_CWS.xml

XML: \Windows\PP_UXC_HermesCWS.xml

XML: \Windows\PP_Generic_UI_Hermes_CWS.xml

XML: \Windows\PP_Other_reg.xml

LOCK: Disabled 'space added to display properly

RST: Reset

Note the file path reference, otherwise the format is identical. PreConfig can run any file type - xml, cab, or exe. I need to verify if Config.txt can do the same.

In the Pandora Kitchen v9.2 and beyond, the PreConfig AT&T w/Extended ROM Launch contains the format to do both. Here is a sample PreConfig.txt from it which does both:

LOCK:Enabled

EXEC:\Windows\SetHSDPA.exe /Enable

XML: \Windows\MP_MMS3.5_CWS_Hermes_070328.xml

XML: \Windows\PP_Generic_ConnSetting_Hermes_CWS.xml

XML: \Windows\PP_Other_Conn_Hermes_CWS.xml

XML: \Windows\PP_UXC_HermesCWS.xml

XML: \Windows\PP_Generic_UI_Hermes_CWS.xml

XML: \Windows\PP_Other_reg.xml

Hide:Enabled

EXEC:\Extended_ROM\autorun.exe

LOCK: Disabled 'space added to display properly

RST: Reset

Note that it runs the PreConfig items first, then calls the Extended ROM to run it's Config.txt items.

To create a new extended rom image or look at what's in yours, I attached the exe's provided by Shamanix and ChunkyMonkey which was developed by AnDim: (his thread)

Here is a sample folder of files that would be used to build a functional extended rom: RapidShare Link

Here is the compiled Extended ROM image: RapidShare Link

A few notes on building the image:

Before adding files to the extended rom, be sure to set them to READ ONLY. While I have not verifed this on the Hermes, the Wizard would not install files which were not saved as read only first.

It's been said that only cabs which have been signed can be used. Using existing cabs from the carrier's extended rom should be fine. I've also successfully installed a number of others from the extended rom, including the Windows Live 33.0600 and Sleuth's ATI and A2DP Fix.

Warning!! If you reference a file that does not exist, the installation progress will stop and you are forced to reset (and everything after the missing file will not be installed).

Warning!! Your total extended rom image size cannot exceed 10 meg (exact value to follow)!!! I do not know (yet) what the tool will do if you exceed this size, but that is the size limit of the extended rom memory allocation.

More info yet to be asymilated: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=759609&postcount=131

Here's some commands from the previous link:

CAB - run a cab files

EXEC - execute a program or application

CPY1 - Source of the File to be copy

CPY2 - Destination of the File to be copy as stated in CPY1

RST - Make a soft reset

More content to follow... :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reasons to use the AutoRun for installing rather than storage:

1. Automating customization after a hard reset/flash

2. Installing from the extended rom/SD helps reduce Windows folder "bloat" by keeping the installation CAB and installed files out of the windows directory.

3. SD Memory is cheap. I'd rather install from there and have more storage on the phone.

4. ...

5. ...

Unless the big storage rom is being used, extended rom space is a terrible thing to waste :cool: