[Wing, P4350 ROM development] quicksite:
Part 2 of 2: LAYMAN's GUIDE TO FLASHING ROMS

(This is Part 2. See Part 1 above)

NOTE: Many chefs' extracted .RAR file looks like exhibit "A" above --- which are the contents of a typical "RUU FOLDER" -- or Rom Update Utility folder. So, "A" is what you're looking for.

BUT, it's OKAY if you see "B" instead. That just means the chef decided to supply people who do not have HARD-SPL devices with a different method they could use to flash the ROM to their phone. So, if your extracted folder looks more like "B" than "A" above, then you will click on the RUU Folder. And once you do, then the insides of that RUU folder should look something like "A". Capiche? If not, sorry, you have to go SEARCH and READ MORE elsewhere.

11. Inside the RUU Folder, once again, for review, are files named something like these:

NOTE the .nbh file above.

Note that it's the largest-sized file in the folder. This is the specific ROM FILE which will be installing all the software onto your phone, via the USB cord. In the example above, it's not the ROM from this thread, it's a different ROM. In this example, that ROM is called "Open Touch v 1.0".

But in YOUR "RUU Folder" that you extracted, there will be an .nbh file that resembles the name of the ROM you downloaded. There will also be a .exe file which some people have abbreviated as a file name, others have kept the full name: It is the RomUpdateUtility.exe file that you launch to start the show. But yours may be titled RUU.exe ---- note:

that's just the abbreviation for the 3 words.

One is not better than the other. They are the same. Some people just name the .exe differently. But you will have one or the other in your folder, not both. Get ready, this is the file you're going to click.

12. This is it. In your RUU folder are files named things like EnterBootloader.exe, RUU.exe (or RomUpdateUtility.exe), some .dll files, and the .nbh file. When you click the RUU.exe file, this will launch a WIZARD process -- and it's almost foolproof.

This process will be almost exactly as if you were given a new "Official Software Update" file from T-Mobile or some other carrier. It will have ON-SCREEN PROMPTS on your PC --- and it will also cause various ON-SCREEN PROMPTS on your phone device. At this point, it's just "Follow the directions"... Like most Wizard files, it has lots of confirmation screens to tell you what it's about to do, then you confirm, then it starts.

So, if your USB cable is plugged in, and YOUR PHONE HAS BATTERY JUICE IN IT (in other words, if it's not at least 50% fully charged, don't even think of doing this. But assuming you have 50% charged battery or more, you're good to go), then click the RUU.exe (or RomUpdateUtility.exe) file -- and from here on out, the process should take about 10 minutes.

During this process, as mentioned, the Wizard is taking control of your phone's internals... So don't touch anything. At one point you will see the tri-color screen. At other times you will see a fully WHITE screen. This is normal. Don't touch it. You may even get a blank screen where it's black for a bit. Don't touch it, it's fine. Eventually, within first minute, there will be a WHITE SCREEN.... and, as the PROGRESS BAR ON YOUR PC's WIZARD starts to move from 0% to 1% to 2% to 10% etc, the same progress status will display on your phone's screen. It's a white screen, with a status bar and a number will show that matches the status % on your PC.

So you can tell by watching either the PC or the phone how long the process will take, roughly.

Like almost any software installation process, sometimes the status bars stop a moment, run slower... it's the same here. It's probably copying a big file. So just know that at the end of the process, you're getting to 80% and 90% and so on, if it slows down at 95% or 98% or 99%, leave it alone, it's fine. Let it do it's thing. It will complete.

13. After the status bars reach 100% on PC and device, the PC wizard screens will probably say "you are done" on the PC side... but there are some further steps on the PHONE side... This is because all that's happened so far is the files have all been copied to their proper files structures on the phone... but the new software on the PHONE has not run its OWN installation process to set up all the nifty new software including the Windows OS.

So, UNPLUG THE USB CORD. You're done with the PC.

14. Continue to "leave the phone alone". It's still going on ITS installation process. If it resets itself, let it. Don't touch anything. It's going to perform a bunch of steps.... and the exact order I simply can't remember at this moment. But these are the kinds of things it will do.

* At one point you will get the Windows Mobile logo and it will load the operating system

* At another point you will get that whole Screen Alignment thing -- where you poke your stylus in all 4 corners, etc.

* At another point, maybe before the screen alignment, there will be a logo for PocketPC -- and that will go through a short installation process, with its own status bar, again all automated. Don't touch it. It may reset after this. It may go blank. It may do something else I can't remember. Don't touch it.

* And at some miraculous point, it will finally load the whole interface you've been dying to see. Your XDA "chef" may have included a SPLASH SCREEN with some design or identifying words that say the name of the ROM. That's the sign that soon everything on your phone will be brand spanking new.

* At this point it's similar to when you soft-reset your device -- it's now loading up the startup processes and files.

* And somewhere along the line it'll tell you to TAP THE SCREEN to begin using your phone. I can't remember where that is, but it will be as obvious as this post is overly-long: OBVIOUS. When it tells you to tap the screen, do it. If it goes thru another alignment process, do it. So everything I have just said takes about 10 minutes for the files to transfer from PC to phone. And maybe another 2-5 minutes of PHONE SET UP PROCESS.

* Then it's done! And you know it's done when the Today screen is there, and nothing else is happening. Patience is the virtue here.

Now! Use the phone, start playing around with it. And maybe just for good measure, NOW do a soft-reset on your own, just to make sure it all works normal, before you start configuring or adding more apps.

15. But there's just ONE MORE REQUIRED STEP that you could not take until now: DATA SETTINGS:

You have to now give the phone your carrier's data connection information which handles SMS, MMS, and web access.

Luckily, if you're a T-Mobile customer, there IS A CAB FILE, (i will try to find it and upload here), which will automate this for you, and insert all the T-Mobile stuff that lets you connect to web etc.... It's superfast, like 5 seconds to install from the .cab file.

If you're NOT a T-mobile customer, then search here at XDA for your carrier's data connection information. ( Searching is even easier now since I've made this shortcut web address: XDAsearch.com can't get much simpler than that. ) Maybe someone made a .cab file for your provider. But if not, the info of what the settings are will be here on this site (SEARCH), and you may have to manually enter them.

THIS IS THE NECESSARY STEP before you can access the web .

If I've left anything out, hopefully someone can run cleanup behind me. But i need to just publish this and go to bed. Hope it helps!

Now, if I were you, I would print out this post, and just have it by your side as you flash.