Installing Custom ROMs

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FULL CREDIT FOR THIS GUIDE GOES TO BTDAG FROM THE FORUMS - THANK YOU!

This is aimed at new "rooters" who are looking to put VillainROM on their Hero. Largely based upon the Unlockr guides, so thank you Unlockr!

Please do NOT be mislead. This is NOT a quick process, though the time has been reduced significantly if you don't need the goldcard method. There is no "one-click" version or "quick-install".

You should set aside at least an hour for this process and preferably read through the process once before actually attempting it.

I also take no responsibility if you fuck up somehow, and this is for GSM Heroes - not Sprint Hero CDMA users.

Please make a quick post with your experiences, including your brand of phone and location.

Please check the FAQ first before asking questions

Contents

Preinstall: Backup your phone!

  1. Backup contacts, calendera, etcetera with HTC Sync. Follow this guide to get your phone set up with HTC Sync.
  2. Backup your SD Card or use a spare one.
  3. Backup SMS Messages with SMS Backup & Recovery from the Market.

Step One: Installing a Recovery Image

  1. On your phone, go to Settings > Applications - and make sure "Unknown Source" is ticked.
  2. On your phone, go to Settings > SD card and phone storage - click Unmount SD card.
  3. Then click Format SD card.
  4. Plug the phone into the computer via USB, then pull down the notification bar and click on the SD card notification. Then click mount.
  5. Download this APK and recovery image and save it to your computer:
  6. Copy them both to your SD card (do NOT put them inside any folders on the SD card, just put them on the root of the SD card itself).
  7. Unplug the phone from the computer once they are downloaded to the SD card.
  8. Go to the Market and download ASTRO File Manager or any file manager program if you do not already have one.
  9. Open the file manager and find the FlashRec apk file, click it, choose open app manager and then install it.
  10. When it is installed click Open. Click on Backup Recovery Image and wait for it to finish. If you get "backup failed" response see the "Installing the correct HTC ROM" section below for more details, if the backup is a success carry on to step 11.

    Installing the correct HTC ROM
    • Orange UK Users - Please downgrade your ROM version to 2.73.61.5
    • Generic Hero Users - Please downgrade to 2.73.405.5, or follow the goldcard method if this doesn't work
    • T-Mobile UK Users – Please follow the "Goldcard" method below
    • All Other Users - Please follow the "Goldcard" method below
  11. Once done, click on the empty text box in the FlashRec program and type: 
/sdcard/recovery-RA-hero-v1.6.2.img

(replace exact name as new versions come out)

Then click on the Flash Recovery Image button and wait for it to finish.

Step Two: Loading the Custom ROM

  1. Download VillainROM.
  2. Plug in your phone and pull down the Notification bar when the SD notification pops up.
  3. Click on the notification and select Mount.
  4. Open the SD Card fonder on your computer.
  5. Copy the Custom ROM from your computer to your SD Card. Do NOT change it, extract the files or put it in any folders.
  6. Unplug your phone and turn it off.
  7. Turn the phone on by holding down Home and Power till you get to the custom recovery screen.
  8. Select Wipe from the menu, then select:
    • Wipe data/factory Reset
    • Wipe Dalvik-cache
    • Wipe SD:ext partition
    • Wipe battery stats
    • Wipe rotate settings
    • Press back button
    • Select Flash Zip from SD Card
    • Select VillainROM5.4.zip
    • Click Confirm
    N.B. Ignore any "errors", they are normal and usually mean you're not using that feature.
  9. Once it is done, select Reboot and you will boot into the OS.

Step Three: Updating your Radio

N.B. People have been reporting problems with this part of the guide, try it at your own risk. It is not required to be on the latest radio when using a VillainROM, however it is usually recommended! The radio deals with your signal levels, I found it to increase my signal from a maximum of 2 bars to full. It is likely to help if you travel, but if you are happy with your signal and tend to stay in the same place it may not be worth it.

Be aware that if this doesn't work it can potentially brick you phone... though I've had no reports of that so far. Just people finding it doing different things after it flashes.

  1. Download the latest radio from here - at time of writing the latest radio is: 63.18.55.06PU_6.35.15.14
    N.B. EU does NOT stand for Europe! Radios are not region specific!
  2. Mount your SD Card so your computer can read it and place the downloaded file in the main directory
  3. Turn off your phone and boot into the recovery screen (holding Home + Power)
  4. Choose:
    • Flash Zip from SD Card
    • Click Confirm
    N.B. This can take anywhere between 1 - 10 minutes or maybe even longer in some cases. Do not touch your phone until you either: get back to the recovery screen or your custom rom loads and you see the unlock screen.
    DO NOT PULL THE BATTERY OUT, THIS WILL BRICK YOUR HANDSET.
  5. When this process has completed reboot the phone and you should have the new radio. This can be checked in Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Baseband Version

"GoldCard" Procedure

Setting up the SDK

  1. Download the Latest Android SDK from Google.
  2. Extract the Android SDK .Zip file to C:\ (may help to re-name the folder to a shorter name, in this tutorial it will be C:\android\ )
  3. Run Setup.exe from within this folder.
  4. Click "Settings" and check the "Force https://... sources ..." option
  5. Click "Available Packages" and download the "USB Driver Package"
  6. On your phone, click Settings > Applications > Development and make sure USB Debugging is on.
  7. Plug your phone into your computer via a USB cable.
  8. Go into device manager:
    • In Windows 7 or Vista:
      Start --> Search for "device manager"
    • In Windows XP:
      Start --> Control Panel --> Double-click System --> In the Hardware tab, click Device Manager
  9. Here we are checking the driver which is installed for your Hero, you may see either of the following scenarios:
    • Other Devices > ADB or Android Phone > My HTC
    Either way you should do the following:
    • Right Click > Update Driver > Browse > C:\android\usb_driver > Next
      This should should install "Android Composite ADB Interface"
  10. Type the following into the command prompt window (Start > Search > "cmd") and enter the following hitting enter at the end of every line: 
cd c:\android\tools\
adb devices

You should see a serial number pop up, it’s the serial number of your phone. This means you are all set.

If you do NOT see a serial number, then we need to reinstall the drivers.

Create a “GoldCard” from a MicroSD Card

(Please keep in mind that some memory cards don’t work for this process)

  1. Put the memory card you want to use for the GoldCard into your phone, make sure all the data is backed up before proceeding as it will be formatted.
  2. With the memory card in your phone, and not connected to the PC, click on: Settings > SD and Phone storage > Unmount SD Card
    Once it unmounts, click Format SD Card.
  3. On your phone, click: Settings > Applications > Development and make sure USB Debugging is on.
  4. Return to the Command Prompt from earlier after re-plugging in your Hero. Then type the following with hitting enter at the end of each line:
    adb shell
    cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid
  5. A code will display, write the code down into a notepad document or similar (MAKE SURE TO WRITE IT DOWN EXACTLY!)
  6. Go to this site (provided by Soaa) then put in your code you just wrote down into the text box and click submit. It will generate the code reversed and replace the first two digits with zeros automatically. Copy this.
  7. Then go to this site and Paste your CID into the box and fill in the other details. You'll be e-mailed the goldcard. Save the goldcard image to disk.
  8. Now go to this site to download the HxD Hex Editor. Install it to your computer.
  9. Mount your SD card on your phone so that it shows up on your computer as "Removable Disk" - Pull down the notification bar on the phone and select Mount CD Card.
  10. Open the Hex Editor (Run as Administrator if you're in Vista or Windows 7) and click on the Extra menu > Open Disk. Under "Physical Disk" select "Removable Disk". Make sure to UNcheck “Open as ReadOnly”. Click OK. Press OK when prompted for Sector Size 512 (Hard Disks/Floppy Disks).
  11. Go to the Extra menu again and click Open Disk Image. Open up the goldcard.img that you saved from your email. You should now have two tabs, one is the SD card (Removable Disk) and the other is the goldcard.img.
  12. Click on the Goldcard.img tab and press Ctrl + A (select all) Then Ctrl + C (copy).
  13. Click on the Removable Disk tab (Your SD Card) and select the complete lines from 00000000 to 00000170 then press Ctrl + V (paste).
  14. Click on File then click Save.
  15. Close the Hex Editor.
  16. Reboot the phone.

Try to open the memory card on the computer (i.e. mount the drive), if it lets you, you are all set. If it asks/tells you to reformat the card, then try steps 13 – 19 again. If it gives you the same error again, then try a different memory card. You can confirm that it has worked by opening the Removable Disk in the hex editor again and making sure the code you pasted in has stayed but this shouldn't be necessary.

Downgrade the Hero using the Goldcard

  1. Download and install the latest HTC Sync. Restart if necessary. This is currently HTC Sync 2.0.33
  2. Go into device manager again and we should see on of the following scenarios:
    Other Devices > ADB or Android Phone > My HTC
    • If it is the second option leave it how it is and make sure you can get HTC Sync connected. If it is the first option you need to:
    Right Click > Update Driver > Browse > Let me pick from list... >
    • Then either:
    Select - My HTC
    or if that is not available
    Select - Have Disk > browse to: C:\Program Files\HTC\HTC Driver\Driver Files - and select the appropriate file, this should install "My HTC"
  3. Once HTC Sync is installed and your phone is plugged in, pull down the notification bar on the phone and select HTC Sync. Make sure it connects to HTC Sync on the computer.
  4. Download this generic HTC Hero RUU
    Hero RUU -
    2.73.405.5
    2.73.405.5 (alternative)
  5. Double click the RUU exe you downloaded while the phone is plugged in with the GoldCard in it and follow the on screen procedure. This will install the old generic Hero rom on your phone, this is to allow you to install a recovery image. Reboot and fill in as few details as possible as these will be overwritten soon.
  6. Now you have finished this procedure start from the beginning again.

Frequently Asked Questions

I get [ERROR 000: ArghArghArgh] when installing the exe, what can I do?
First thing's first - check that your goldcard has stuck. Load up the Hex editor and open your SD card in it again and make sure it still has the goldcard data at the beginning of it.
Second - follow the "Bootloader Driver" section of my Driver Guide
Third - Use Windows XP instead (you can do this through VirtualBOX or VMWare)
What do you mean by "rooting" my phone?
Rooting is a process of unlocking "root" access to your phone. This allows you to perform administrative commands which are locked by default. It is similar to "Run as Administrator" seen in Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems.
What is a "custom rom"?
A custom rom is a version of the Android OS which has been customised by a user. There are rom's based upon v1.5 of the Android OS and others based upon v2.1 (which is currently unreleased on Hero). In order to install the custom rom you require a recovery rom to be installed.
What is a "recovery rom"?
A recovery rom allows you to run certain commands such as wiping your data, backing up your data and flashing a custom rom. There are various methods to install a recovery rom and it often depends on whether your current rom has an exploit in it which allows you to install it or not. If you do not you are required to downgrade before you are able to install one.
What is a "Goldcard"?
Gold card is just a modified sd card which allows an exploit to be run so you can flash your phone with a generic android rom instead of your carrier specific rom.
Can you revert back to a Shipped ROM?
Yes. At any point it you connect your phone to your PC and run a standard HTC rom exe it will completely wipe the phone back to how it started.
Do I need a nandroid backup before starting this guide?
Simple answer No. See above question! However, if you are unable to get your phones correct RUU then this may be an issue - a guide is being looked into.
If you can return back why do other guides suggest this?
Because it saves data such as SMS and apps etc exactly as it is before doing anything so you don't have to set up from scratch. However, as I have yet to find a guide which details the steps to take, I am not likely to include this in my guide any time soon. If you want to nandroid before starting find a guide yourself or work it out and if you do let me know and i'll include it here (with credit).
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