Custom Roms And Rom Hacking
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Custom ROM's for Treo 650-proceed at your own risk
Custom ROM's are a great thing. Brayder Technologies introduced JackFlash and JackSprat around the days of the Palm V, and more recently Shadowmite has come into the spotlight for his work with Treo, which will be outlined below.
HUGE DISCLAIMER: ROM UPDATES ARE ONE THING, CUSTOM ROM'S ARE ANOTHER. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. MYTREO.NET ASSUMES NO LIABLITY FOR NON-FUNCTIONING UNTIS FOLLOWING FROM ATTEMPTS TO APPLY CUSTOM ROMs.
The reason why we want custon ROM's is to maxmize the limited space on our handhelds. We can remove things that are not necessary or useful to us and add things that we prefer.
It is important to note that it is not enough to simply remove things from the ROM, in order to enjoy the benefits of a custom ROM, you must also add. The reason is that the Treo has two types of memory: RAM and ROM. The RAM is the stuff that we use daily and that our meters tell us how full it is. The ROM is always full, period. Even if it isn't full, it will still take up the same amount of space.
This heading has two pieces: the first is detailed instructions, the second is a list of applications that have been tested in the ROM to work or not work. PLEASE ACTIVELY CONTRIBUTE YOUR EXPERIENCES SO THAT WE ALL GAIN!!
So, let's get to hacking.
I. Materials needed:
1. A Treo 650, not a Treo 600 2. SD card 3. SD card reader/writer for PC 4. Master File Description List [1], available in Adobe Reader from Shadowmite's website, graciously documented by Ohmster∞ 5. a COLOR printer is a real plus for the List in step 18 6. Treo 650 ROM tool, also available from from Shadowmite's site,[2] for Windows∞ and [3] for Macs∞ 7. enough time to proceed slowly and carefully
II. Procedure
The procedure is essentially the same as the installing the ROM detailed in the updating the ROM section, except that we insert a few extra steps between 7) and 8). So, one needs to backup and hard-reset Treo, etc all the way up to step 7), which is extracting the files from downloaded ROM file. So, after step 7) of the ROM installation process is where we begin.
This is guide that has been successfully used on an unbranded GSM model. Although the original method that Shadowmite developed and Ohmster documented was for CDMA models, their method can be modeled for GSM adaptation. The instructions should be even clearer and easier for CDMA users.
1. Back up your Treo. You can back up your Treo to either your PC or your SD
card. If you back up to your PC via hotsync, then there is a nice freeware which
can be installed to your Treo that is called SyncAll (all one has to do is right
before the sync, open the program and click "force all to sync"), and it will move
all the files, including preferences and such that don't normally get sync'd. If
you backup to your SD card, there are numerous programs for accomplishing this. It
is important that the number of backup-to-SD programs are limited for the Treo 650
due the NVFS file system.
2. After you backup your Treo, then hard reset it. A hard reset is important to
empty out the memory and give the update plenty of room to work. Although many people
have reported no problems without hard reseting, the most prudent course is clear it
out since we have already made a thorough backup.
3. Connect your SD card to your computer. You can skip steps 4 and 5 if the SD card
if empty. Proceed to steps 4 and 5 if you are planning to use the same SD card that
you use for daily purposes.
4. Make sure that the card has about 15 MegaBytes of free space, which is about the
size of the ROM usually after it has been unzipped.
5. On the SD card, find the PALM folder. It should not be hidden or deep in other
folders. It should there on the first click of the card, just right on the top.
Rename the folder to whatever you want, Monkey for instance. Just make sure that it
is NOT called Palm. This will be changed back later after the update.
6. Download the ROM
7. It is likely that the ROM will be in a .ZIP file. So, unzip the file and extract
the contents to your computer and remember the location that you extracted them to.
Notes: It will really be easier if you can extract the files from the downloaded ROM
.zip to a location in the root directory of your PC. So, rather than saving the file at
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\My Documents\Treoupdater\ etc., it will really be
better if you can save it to C:\Treoupdater. This becomes especially important in steps
10 and 11 for selecting which files you want to reject and accept. Well, its not really
important if you have a widescreen 20 inch monitor. In which case, might I suggest
customizing your ROM for you and you can reimburse with a monitor like yours? :-)
8. Start the ROM tool by opening the folder that was downloaded from Shadowmite's site.
In the Windows version, there is a file called T650tool. Double clicking that will start
the program.
9. Once the program has started, it asks you to "Choose location" above the left panel.
You will need to use the file browser in the left panel of the screen to find the
extracted ROM files that you unzipped.
10. Once you find that folder, then continue inside of it through the Device Customizer
folder.
11. In the Device Customizer folder, find Treo650.XXX folder where XXX is the abbreviated
name of your carrier or ROW for unbranded GSM models.
12. Once in the Treo650.XXX folder, subfolders will not appear below it in the left pane.
Look in the center panel and find a file called ace-palmos.zip
13. Once you have located ace-palmos.zip, then you click on it once and select "Open ROM
.zip" in the top left corner above the left panel.
14. Wait a moment while Shadowmite's program verifies the ROM, as a note, I have noticed
that the status windows tends to get hung sometimes, so when the center pane changes and
it shows the file at the top of the list as (underscore)(underscore)MMservers_XXXX.cpdb
once again where XXXX is your carrier), then you may proceed to the next step.
15. Click once in the center panel.
16. Choose "select all" above the center panel.
17. Wait as the computer works and the right pane gets filled with files.
18. At this point, it is time to start removing from or adding files to the ROM. I
choose to remove files first since it is the hardest part of the process. It is
useful to have the Master File Description List from Shadowmite's website, graciously
documented by Ohmster∞ printed for easy reference without having to switch back and
forth between your internet browser and the T650tool. The document is really great in
color because files that are in green are known to be safe to delete and those that
are red must stay. If one doesn't have access to a color printer, then it is better to
just switch back and forth because a greyscale or black and white printout won't beuseful.
Currently, the document is for CDMA phones; however, it can easily be used for GSM phones
as long as we think before we leap.
19. The place for removing files is in the right panel. Files are listed in
alphabetical order. Double clicking any files in the right panel removes it from the
ROM. So, one can happily proceed removing those files that have been marked as green
in Ohmster's document. If you make any mstakes, you can simply find the file again in
the center panel and double click it to add it back to the ROM. It is crucially important
to make sure that the files are EXACTLY the same ones. Close doesn't count in this case.
The document is very clear about what application that various files belong to.
READ THE NOTES ON EACH FILE BEFORE DELETING THEM.
Therefore, only delete the files for the applications that you want to delete. Currently,
Versamail, QuickTour, RealPlayer, and WorldClock can be removed. For CDMA users, some of
the Sprint specific programs can be removed also. Information is currently not available
for removing Cingular specific programs, such as XpressMail.
20. When you get down to the D's, you need to heed the caution that Ohmster made with
regard to "DefConnectionDE_xxXX.pdb" You must retain at least one of these language files,
which would be the language that you want to use the handset in. The unbranded, SIM-free
GSM model from PalmOne has many more instances of this multiple language support than the
CDMA model. This is because the CDMA model is really intended for the Untied States, and
the GSM model has global support. Time and future will indicate if it is safe to delete
these other language packs in the GSM models. For the meantime, it is safe to delete the
unneeded language packs for the "DefConnection" file.
21. When you get to the G's, GSM users will note that we do not have the "GetBC.prc"
file. GetBC is part of Sprint's Business connect which is a carrier specific program.
Continue forward, no need to delete things that don't exist.
22. In the H's, GSM user's also do not habe the "Handango" files. Continue forward, no
need to delete things that don't exist.
23. In the L's, Ohmster denotes that you can delete the native launcher, you know the
plain old white background with icons thing. BUT I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO MAKE THE UNIT RUN
SUCCESSFULLY AFTERWARD EVEN WITH ANOTHER INSTALLED, I WOULD AVOID DOING THIS UNTIL IT IS
PERFECTED.
24. !!VERY IMPORTANT FOR GSM USERS!! When you get to the MM's. Versamail files generally
begin "MM", which stands for MultiMail. Well, right in the middle of a large group of
Versamail files is another group of files that begin with "MMS." If you aren't careful
and are going through quickly, you might delete those too. if you delete these files,
you destory your ability to send and receive picture messages. Be EXTRA careful and delete
only the files that Ohmster has indicated are okay to delete.
25. In the P's, look out for "PalmSGHIResfonts.pdb" it is okay to delete, but will effect
Blazer as well as Versamail. I left it in because I like Blazer.
26. After you go through the entire document and have removed what you want to, then you
are ready to start adding new stuff.
27. Decide what you want to put in the ROM. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT YOU SHOULD ONLY
PUT PROGRAM FILES IN THE ROM, NOT DATABASES. Only put in .prc's and not .pdb's. If you have
any questions, post it in the forum. The reason that .pdb's can't be put in the ROM is that
the information in the ROM does not change, so any changes that you make will be redundantly
stored in the RAM, which defeats the whole purpose. Most people can add between 10 and 15
files (again .prc's and not .pdb's) depending on what they delete. Obviously, the more you
delete, the more room you have to add stuff. You will be able to check how much space you
have left or how much you are over at the end of the process...sorry, no way to see beforehand
as far as I know.
28. After you have decided what applications that you want to add to your new ROM, then
you need to use the left panel to navigate to their location.
29. Once you have located them in the left panel, you can double click on them in the
center panel to add them to the left panel.
30. Do this for each file that you want to add to the ROM.
31. If you add a file that you didn't want to, just double click it in the left panel
to remove it from the ROM.
32. When you are satisfied that you have not deleted anything that you weren't supposed
to and that you added what you wanted to, then you can click "Build it" below the left
panel.
33. The computer assembles the custom ROM, and puts it in the same location as the
extracted files.
34. AT THIS POINT YOU WILL SEE A NEW BOX BETWEEN THE "BUILD IT" and "EXIT" BUTTONS. IT
WILL TELL YOU HOW MUCH ROM SPACE YOU HAVE USED AND FILLED. IF THE NUMBER ON THE RIGHT HAS
A MINUS SIGN (-) IN FRONT OF IT, THEN YOU HAVE ADDED TOO MUCH AND YOU NEED TO GO BACK AND
REMOVE SOME STUFF.
35. You can exit the T650tool by clicking "Exit" in the bottom right corner.
36. Using your PC's file browser, go the the folder where the extracted files are located.
37. Go in that folder go through PALM->Device Customizer.
38. In the Device Customizer folder, you will find a new folder called "Custom ROM"
39. Go into the Custom ROM folder and copy the folder and file that are in there. I used
the Select All function and then Copy.
40. Go back up one level to the Device Customizer folder.
41. Go into the Treo650.XXX folder, and choose to Paste the two files that you copied from
the Custom ROM folder. It will say that they already exist and ask if you want to overwrite
the current ones. You need to say "Yes" that you want to overwrite the old files.
42. Go back up to the Device Customizer folder.
43. delete the Custom ROM folder and there may also be a folder called ace-palmos.zip-temp.
You can delete that one too.
44. Go back up two levels, and then choose to Copy the PALM folder.
45. Go to your SD card.
46. On your SD card, paste the PALM folder and all of its contents. That is why it was
important to rename the folder in step 5 if you are using your regular-duty SD card.
47. Remove the SD card from the computer.
48. Plug the Treo into the hotsync cable. It is required that the Treo be plugged into
its power source.
49. Insert the SD card.
50. WAIT.
51. WAIT SOME MORE.
52. DON'T GET ANCY.
53. The unit may turn itself off and on a few times during the process.
54. Eventually after 5-20 minutes, the initial welcome and setup screens will appear and
you will need to choose language and time and location and such.
55. Remove the SD card and delete the ROMupdater folder named "Palm" because if you put it
back in with that ROMupdater it will automatically start again.
56. If you backedup your Treo using the Hotsync, then go into C:\Programs
Files\PalmOne\(hotsyncID) and copy the "Backup" folder to a safe, secure, separate location.
57. After the Backup folder has been copied, go back to it and then DELETE the files that
you added to the ROM. You want to do this because they are already in the ROM and now it
would be redundant to put them back in the RAM. I do not backup to an SD card, so I am not
sure how one would remove the redundant files from the SD card backups. Possibly they don't
get copied, or possibly you can just delete the redundant file. Maybe someone who has
experience can amend here.
58. Restore the Treo using either Hotsync or the SD card backup program. If you used the
SD card backup method, you can remove the SD card, place it in the computer, delete the ROM
update folder named Palm, and rename the old PALM folder again to PALM.
59. Enjoy the fresh ROM and all of its advantages.
List of Programs That Have Been Tested
REMEMBER, ONLY .prc files go in the ROM, not .pdb's!!! and bloating the ROM with too many apps doesn't necessarily improve your Treo experience because it depletes the DBCache casing it to reset regularly.
Programs that work in the ROM
Abacus.prc 2.31
AcidImage.prc
ActNames.prc ( from Agendus )
Alias Launcher
AvantageRx.prc
BackupBuddyVFS
Backupman
bluefang
Butler
CardExport2
Cleanup ( registered version )
ClipPRO-ClpP.prc
Converter
CutPaste5
DayNotez
DocsToGo.prc
Expense
FieldPlus
FileProg
Findat
HandyShop2.prc
Hi-Launcher + Theme PRCs
Initiate ( Version 2.12 only )
iSilo.prc ( from iSilo 3.35 )
KeyguardTime+.prc
KeyguardTime+enUS.prc
KBLightsOff
KK 12C 1.9.2
LEDOff
Linkstart 2.2
McFile 2.11
mcphling5
Pix_OS_OS5 ( theme for ZLauncher )
PocketTunes.prc ( v3.1.1 works fine )
PsMemo
RescoBackup
RescoLocker
ScrollJump
SlovoEd.prc
SnapCalc
SplashID.prc
Verichat 2.86b
Voice Memo
ZLauncher ( v5.2,5.31 tested )
Sprint CDMA only: Replaced the PhoneApp_SPCS with the modified Treo one. Replaced TonesLibraryLib_SPCS.cprc and TonesLibraryLib_SPCS_enUS.lprc with the 1.08 ROM ones ( see TreoCentral.com...All 3 files above restore the "create your own ringtone" functionality. )
Programs that don't work in the ROM
2day
4cast
flight status
LispMe
mDesk
Note Pad (Localisation 'Note Pad_enUS.prc' must remain in RAM)
Phone Technician
Pippy
PocketC
PTunes.prc
pxaclocker
SplashPhoto.prc
RingerSwith (It'll triger a reset loop soon after the ROM update. repeated)
SEVEN (aka Sprint Business Connection)
5-30-05 - I have been using 4cast and Biz conn in my rom, no problems.
Variable performance-loses preferences and registration
AckWire
Microbe
PXA Clocker
RsrcEdit
VoiceLauncher
Xiino
