Database Develop

Completed ROM upgrades, now ?s

Okay. I completed the following steps on my new Cingular 8125
1. Used Loki .2b to do CID and unlock - Don;t have another SIM to test but seemed to work
2. INstalled Cingular_RUU_Wizard_AKU2.3_Custom_RNG_THM_A2DP_TEST
3. Installed the 2.25 radio from kypher (sp) update.
Everything seems to work great and response times seem stellar so far but I do have a few questions...
A. When I go into Remove programs I see the following programs
FdcSoft PPC ContactsMgr
ammar Wireless Today Plugin
Summ Summ
What are these, what are they for and can they be deleted since I don't seem to find matching entries in programs for them?
B. Under Programs there are three called Clock200 240 and 252. I am guessing these are overclockers but clicking on them does not seem to do anything. How do these work?
C. Should I delete the cab file I x-fered over for the Loki unlock?
D. While some of the sound files that came on the ROM are cool, I would like to get rid of most of them. How do I do this?
General questions
Is there a profiles setting where for example I can choose a sleep profile so that the phone rings but e-mails don't do anything or is this a 3rd party app deal?
Has anyone ever had issues with having two different IP addresses for your exchange server? It seems that when I put in the IP address into Active Sync that I use to get Outlook Web my phone connects fine when out and around but when using USB errors out. If I put in the exchange server name my IT guy gave me I get the opposite. He is kind of helpless and clueless so any help here owuld be greatly appreciated.

I can help a little, The wireless today plugin is the one that appears on the today screen showing wifi on off and bluetooth on and off. The clocks are overclockers and they dont show anything happening but it does overclock your phone. Sorry I can answer the rest but hopefully what I have said helps some.

Hey every bit helps, thanks!

dcdivenut said:
A. When I go into Remove programs I see the following programs
FdcSoft PPC ContactsMgr
ammar Wireless Today Plugin
Summ Summ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FdcSoft PPC ContactMgr is a replacement on the contacts of the phone - less buggy than the stock one, and no - don't remove it.
Summ Summ - is the alternative task manager that you see in programs. If you wish, delete that one. Personally I like it, because when you close it, it actually closes.
dcdivenut said:
B. Under Programs there are three called Clock200 240 and 252. I am guessing these are overclockers but clicking on them does not seem to do anything. How do these work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are overclockers, and yes they do work, but generally there's an omap that you run in conjunction with other programs. There's an omap.exe file that you can re-do on shortcuts that will have a manual clock setting on simply just the program itself, but I'd find the thread that discusses omap overclocking.
dcdivenut said:
C. Should I delete the cab file I x-fered over for the Loki unlock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Leave it...
dcdivenut said:
D. While some of the sound files that came on the ROM are cool, I would like to get rid of most of them. How do I do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure you can delete some of them, because they're taking up ROM space, but not other memory. Check windows\ringers and see if they're in there and deletable.
dcdivenut said:
General questions
Is there a profiles setting where for example I can choose a sleep profile so that the phone rings but e-mails don't do anything or is this a 3rd party app deal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't really say I can help with this one, but from my experience with the phone, there's nothing in it that has different profiles other than just ring, vibrate, and sleep. Try looking for some third party aps.
dcdivenut said:
Has anyone ever had issues with having two different IP addresses for your exchange server? It seems that when I put in the IP address into Active Sync that I use to get Outlook Web my phone connects fine when out and around but when using USB errors out. If I put in the exchange server name my IT guy gave me I get the opposite. He is kind of helpless and clueless so any help here owuld be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't help with Exchange setups, haven't touched them in forever =)
Hope some of this helped.

THanks a bunch Brian....
I have noticed a few things.. I seem to be getting the error where the time zone drifts. In my case it tries to put me in Indiana. Was there an easy/common fix for this.
Also, it seems to not hold a wifi signal very well anymore. Is this the problem you were experiencing. I installed Wififofum2 but did not get much time to play with it, but in the time I did could not get it to pick up a network at all.

I'm having wifi issues as well with a belkin pre-n, and my srx router doesn't hold its session and ip info.
The fix has been that summiter release a test2 rom, which I'm about to flash my unit with. There is also discussion of trying to get a seperate thread on radio roms which i believe deals with wifi as well, and you don't have to re-flash your entire os just to get a new radio rom.
Also, here are the images you may be interested in:
http://www.legolascs.com/images/wizard/upgrade_aku2.3/

Thanks again Brian

dcdivenut said:
Thanks again Brian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no problem man. as I type this message from the fresh test2 rom that summiter updated the gsm radio with, I'm finding that it is staying connected to my srx, and on the middle performance setting. what I am also noticing is my reception here in my room, dear god, I use to get to bars being lucky, but now man, jesus, full bars, its amazing. I do notice the reception does jump up and down a lot more but that's fine with me. overall the radio version in test2 seems to rock my sox. we'll see if it holds out for this really long post.
well scratch that on the wifi problem, had to reconnect to my router again... ugh, but better reception for cellular!

mengesb said:
FdcSoft PPC ContactMgr is a replacement on the contacts of the phone - less buggy than the stock one, and no - don't remove it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will have to disagree with that. The PPCContactMgr caused scrolling problems with my contacts, and I wasn't the only one this happened to. For example, if you hold down the D-Pad in while in contacts, it scrolls the the alphabet in very large letters allowing you to stop easily at a certain letter. This program screwed that up for me. It worked OK if I just scrolled through a few letters, like to "D", but if I scrolled all the way to "T" for example, then selected a name, it would throw me back at a random name much earlier in the list.
Removing this program fixed the problem.
The only thing this program really gives you is the ability to "select all contacts", if you wanted to delete them. It's not worth the problems. I'd remove it.

AT&T Tilt Automatically changing to wrong time zone

I am not sure if anyone else has had this problem, but I have had the Tilt for a week now, and I noticed that the Time Zone was changing from PST to London time. I have my device set to automatically change to the correct time zone (under the phone settings)... If I disable it, there is no problem, but I travel a lot so I would like it to change automatically.
I am using the Standard ROM from AT&T. I think it could be a ROM issues since this problem would pop up every so often on different cooked ROMS on the Hermes. BUT I wanted to see if anyone else was seeing the problem.
Thank you,

I have the Tilt and switched to the HTC factory ROM. I have been experiencing this problem as well. It hasn't happened in a few days, but it is really frustrating when it is. My Outlook calander gets totally messed up along with the current time. When I go into Time Settings it is set as London. I'm not sure what was causing my problems or how I apparantly fixed it, but it looks like it went away.
Anyway, you're not the only one!

Ditto, I have a stock ATT Tilt and have disabled the automatic install of the bloatware. I'm in California and the phone reverts to Mountain time at least once a day. The optional cabs i have installed are duttythroy (DY) touch skin, DY task manager, DY HTC sim manaer, DY black 3g comm manager, DY HTC voice recorder, Equinoxe retouched dialer, and PCM contacts & keyboard. Any help or direction is much appreciated

yes, this has been happening to a lot of people...this also causes activesync to run in the background all the time and I always find myself turning activesync off in the task manager a few times a day...the one thing I which was posted in another post was I deleted a notification called repllog.exe "app run when time changes"...now i'm not sure if this fixed the time zone issue but it did stop activesync from running all the time...

Thanks strikeIII, I looked for repllog.exe using the search function and sifting through the windows directory, I can't find it. Would you happen to remember the path?

That would be a good find considering it should improve the battery life quite a bit.

Ok guys, what you need to od is:
Go to Start->Settings->Personal->Phone
Find "Time Zones" tab and untick "Automatic change time zone and clock".
That sorted same problem here in UK.

Also in California and was having the problem on my TNT 2.0 flashed 8525 and now my new stock 8925 does the same. was also causing havoc on my calendar and schedule. I went ahead and disabled the auto update for now and all is fine.

cckk said:
Thanks strikeIII, I looked for repllog.exe using the search function and sifting through the windows directory, I can't find it. Would you happen to remember the path?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll not find the particular repllog entry (re "start on time change") that way. It's in the "notifications queue" so you'll need say SKtools or Memmaid (or Scarybear check notifications if you can find it). In one of these go to the notifications queue.
BE VERY CAUTIOUS.
Do not delete other Repllog entries because you can kill Active Sync altogether. I strongly advise a full backup before deleting Repllog entries. They can be re-entered using SKtools or Memmaid but it's straightforward.
Mike

Thank You, I used the "uncheck auto update" function. Has worked well since 11.35 pm 10-16-07. Chris

cckk said:
Thanks strikeIII, I looked for repllog.exe using the search function and sifting through the windows directory, I can't find it. Would you happen to remember the path?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, sorry but I used MemMaid to take care of the repllog.exe file. this may not cure the time zone change situation but it does take care of activesync running in the background. At least if you travel a lot the time will still change automatically.

I do travel alot, I'll give it a try thanks again StrikeIII, Chris

I'm having the same issue. I'm in Idaho and my phone keeps switching to Central time. I've likewise had to disable the automatic time zone changing in the phone settings to get it to stop.

I have had this problem on my Titan/Mogul since day 1. I think it has something to do with Windows/TimeWizard.exe not sending the correct queries to NIST:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\LockStream\Time\Servers
Server1: http://time-a.nist.gov:13
Server2: http://time-b.nist.gov:13
Server3: http://time.nist.gov:13
Server4: http://time-nw.nist.gov:13
Disabling time synchronization solved it for me as well.

Theft Alert

Just found this new application, seems to do the same that WIMP does
and more.
I haven't tried it yet, but looks promising:
http://www.pocketpc-live.com/pocketpc-softwares/ultimate-theft-alert-v3-for-pocket-pcs.html
Of course, for maximum security it would need to be cooked into the ROM.

That seems to be made for kaiser. I just wonder how it can be removed from the device if desired?

bengalih said:
Of course, for maximum security it would need to be cooked into the ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed - otherwise the theif will just hard reset the device :S

BenOggo said:
That seems to be made for kaiser. I just wonder how it can be removed from the device if desired?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried it yet, but you probably just go run an EXE in the program folder and enter an unlock code and it uninstalls.

bengalih said:
I haven't tried it yet, but you probably just go run an EXE in the program folder and enter an unlock code and it uninstalls.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, you re-run the installation file and it gives you the choice of install / repair / remove.
I've tried it and it seems to be great.
There are two additional plug-ins:
GPS ~ For texting the GPS co-ordinates of your phone.
Monitor ~ Sending out details of the incoming calls to the new sim.
It automatically adds your own sim and you can add a list of numbers you want notified if someone installs a non-approved sim (you can authorise other sims).
The whole lot is password protected, and providing you don't keep the install cab on the phone / SD card, it cannot be uninstalled.
I added my works phone to the notifier list and the 'test' function worked without giving me a sent text notification.
Overall, well worth the money.
IMHO
PS. I also read that OS of WM5 and above protect the program if hard reset ... but I can't confirm this as I wasn't going to HR to find out.

Some time ago the master app was being given for free on this very forum. Those that succeeded in being in the first 5 or so hundred got their copies, myself included.
I also went and purchased the 2 add-ons once I tested the app and fallen in love with it
Even if you leave the .cab on your device you cannot uninstall without the admin password, so never fear.
HOWEVER, in order for the app to survive a HR it really needs to be cooked right into your ROM, or, failing that, you have to do some UC-based magic so it re-installs itself after the HR (and re-customizes itself - otherwise what's the point? - but this calls for provisioning etc.). You can go to its forum section to see how best to proceed about it. Me, I have "just installed" it, without any anti-HR measures. For the time being (fingers crossed!).
Ah yes, for boxes other than Kaiser you can also use the ExtROM...

I am currently somewhat excited by RemoteTracker...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=394203
Am looking forward to playing with it

[ROM][WM6.5]HTC rom | T-mobile US Special!

Recently, I downloaded the latest htc wwe rom for my T-mobile US branded Touch Pro 2. I liked it, but it seemed like there was a lot of crap that just didn't need to be there. So I decided to create my own rom.
This is a solid, STABLE rom, but it's version 1, revision 1. I'll be making changes to this, but so far, it's off to a good start.
To start with:
HTC's latest shipped rom
removed co-pilot gps(choose your own)
removed radio(available as a cab)
removed audio booster(wired headphones what?)
removed facebook app(available as a cab)
removed google maps(available as a cab)
removed windows live(available as a cab)
removed msn messenger(available as a cab)
removed 'getting started'(who needs this?)
removed adobe reader(available as a cab)
removed jetcet presenter(I'll never use it, probably available as a cab)
removed jblend(waste of space for me)
MMS send and receive limits have been set for T-mobile US(no more small pictures)
NOTE: You'll have to manually set the T-mobile MMS Server to http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc (like I said, this is my first revision, this will be set automatically soon)
After a day of use, I idle around 60% memory usage, which isn't too bad. In future revisions, I'll be looking to reduce that number. However, if you disable manila and use the default WM home screen, that drops to about 45%
ROM FTP Link
The username is xda and there's no password.
Instructions are the same for any rom, just make sure you have an activesync connection, and run the rom update utility.
This is my first foray into the rom cooking world. If you like my work, and would like to show your support, consider donating.
NEW: T-mobile My Account cabfile

Post 2
Hi InGeNeTiCs
I assume you're going to post a download link in post #2. Oh, no, this is post #2!
Cheers
andrew-in-woking

andrew-in-woking said:
Hi InGeNeTiCs
I assume you're going to post a download link in post #2. Oh, no, this is post #2!
Cheers
andrew-in-woking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha! Way to steal my 2nd post! Anyways, I'm working on setting up a download profile on my ftp server for xda users. I should have it done by 1pm eastern time. (that's in my first post, by the way) ;-)

Just to be clear this is based upon the unbranded WWE and you are customizing it for the US TMo or did you somehow get access to the US TMo 6.5 image that has yet to be released?
S

This is the unbranded htc rom. I wouldn't want the t-mobile rom anyways...to much junk in it.

InGeNeTiCs said:
Recently, I downloaded the latest htc wwe rom for my T-mobile US branded Touch Pro 2. I liked it, but it seemed like there was a lot of crap that just didn't need to be there. So I decided to create my own rom.
This is a solid, STABLE rom, but it's version 1, revision 1. I'll be making changes to this, but so far, it's off to a good start.
To start with:
HTC's latest shipped rom
removed co-pilot gps(choose your own)
removed radio(available as a cab)
removed audio booster(wired headphones what?)
removed facebook app(available as a cab)
removed google maps(available as a cab)
removed windows live(available as a cab)
removed msn messenger(available as a cab)
removed 'getting started'(who needs this?)
removed adobe reader(available as a cab)
removed jetcet presenter(I'll never use it, probably available as a cab)
removed jblend(waste of space for me)
MMS send and receive limits have been set for T-mobile US(no more small pictures)
NOTE: You'll have to manually set the T-mobile MMS Server to http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc (like I said, this is my first revision, this will be set automatically soon)
After a day of use, I idle around 60% memory usage, which isn't too bad. In future revisions, I'll be looking to reduce that number. However, if you disable manila and use the default WM home screen, that drops to about 45%
ROM FTP Link
The username is xda and there's no password.
Instructions are the same for any rom, just make sure you have an activesync connection, and run the rom update utility.
This is my first foray into the rom cooking world. If you like my work, and would like to show your support, consider donating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey do you have a kitchen or what man you wanna share that with us

guntcent said:
hey do you have a kitchen or what man you wanna share that with us
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure I understand the question. You want to know if I used a kitchen?

No ROM there...

NexVision said:
No ROM there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you're doing it right? There's a file called SGM10R1.zip in there. I tested it from different locations, it'd definitely there.
Try this: go to internet explorer and paste ftp://[email protected]
You should see the file then. Remember, if it asks for a password, leave it blank and just click ok.
EDIT: My mistake, I forgot to increase the amount of concurrent users on my server, it's usually set at 4. Lol. It should work fine now.

Yup its visible now... When u gonna be dropping v2? Also I believe his question about the kitchen was would u post the one your using.

NexVision said:
Yup its visible now... When u gonna be dropping v2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably by the end of the weekend. I have a few tweaks to drop memory usage that I want to put in there, and the facebook sync in contacts isn't working because apparently I removed it by accident. So hopefully sometime before sunday. I'll update the main post when it happens though.

Thanks for the ROM~
Do we need to hard SPL unlock before flashing?

ubcjack said:
Thanks for the ROM~
Do we need to hard SPL unlock before flashing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Standard ROM flashing rules apply. Hardspl is a must.

hey nice rom it works great on tmo tp2 i love it but when i hit the call button and then hit the contacts tab it doesnt go to contacts it stays in the same screen and also does the 3g work on this rom or do i have to set the settings or something

ariel123 said:
hey nice rom it works great on tmo tp2 i love it but when i hit the call button and then hit the contacts tab it doesnt go to contacts it stays in the same screen and also does the 3g work on this rom or do i have to set the settings or something
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad you enjoy it. The second revision is basically the same as the first, with some speed enhancements. I JUST found that issue tonight. Apparently when manilla is running it takes over certain aspects of the os, like contacts and calendar. It'll do the same thing if you press 'all people' in the 'people' tab. I'm not sure why, because I didn't mess with any of the contact stuff. I'll keep you posted though.

also i forgot to mention that the gps is not working when i try to use google maps and the my location either. i dont know if its turned off.

ariel123 said:
also i forgot to mention that the gps is not working when i try to use google maps and the my location either. i dont know if its turned off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't experienced this problem. As a matter of fact, I was using tomtom the other night to get myself to a friend's wedding. If this is your first time using the gps after you flashed, run quick gps and then open google maps and make sure 'use gps' is selected. Then just leave it on the window sill for a few minutes(making sure it isn't sleeping). The first gps fix can take a few, even with quick gps.
Though, I will say the touch pro 2 is very slow to get a gps fix in general. My tilt was faster. :-/

ok I'm doing that as I type this to you. so you telling me that your my location works fine on your home screen. and also my alt key doesn't work on the keyboard

Yes. My location is 100 percent functional. The only reason I can see that it wouldn't work is if it can't find your actual location...but I'm not even sure that's possible, as it uses a different database for that. Does it not show up at all, or does it show 'my location', and then the weather data?

nope nothing still i did the quick gps and then left it on google maps for about 8min now and still searching for satelite at times it says updating location but then quickly goes back to searching for satelite

Suggest a Rom and GUI for me.

OK, my first post so be gentle.
I have MDA Vario that has been flashed with TPCElite series V11 MEGA wm6.5 23017. It also has the touchflo GUI running. Now having tried it for a week (only just purchased it a week ago) I can say that I'm not a fan of the touchflo prog. It seems to hang on occasions and I often end up selecting something I didn't want only to find the phone connecting to the net. So I have switched it off. There is a windows default one that is working fine, but I can't see a way to customise the menu so I can add what I want to it.
So my dilemma. Do I flash with a "lite" rom and add a GUI myself afterwards - this way I can uninstall it if I don't like it. Or should I just leave it deselected and install a new one? Will this have any performance/memory issues - ie is the lite rom a better way to go.
I had a Mio PDA with iLauncher on it and I liked the ability to add my own shortcuts etc.
If I should flash can anyone recommend a stable reliable rom. Also is there a better GUI? Been looking at Manila 2D v2 but I want to be able to customise the main menu and I don't want it sluggish.
One final thing. Is it possible to get the phone to ask permission before connecting via gprs rather than scurrying around for the disconnect. I've looked through the menus but can't find anything. Don't mind using it if I want it, just fed up of it dialing it by mistake -(I have sausage fingers.)

i recommend the t.i.r element v5 rom. ive been thru many roms including the tpc series that you have tried and i find that t.i.r element v5 is the best w/ smooth graphics, great gui (full landscape support etc.) i cant post a link as of now since i am new to posting on xda so please look it up and give it a shot!

Is there a CLI version of a rom for this phone or is someone just trying too sound fancy? Since when is touchflu a GUI? I am totally confused.
Do I flash with a "lite" rom and add a GUI myself afterwards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh my head is hurting make it stop.. SOMEONE REPLIED TO THIS?? awmg
If I should flash can anyone recommend a stable reliable rom. Also is there a better GUI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am so confused, it's like trying to mess with a womans bra (Full Landscape support) for the first time, what do I do.. do I call her new hair doo a pair of panties? AAAHHHHHHHH
Stylez close this **** down.. REASON.... Doesn't make any sense at all..
I used the GUI version of this forum to reply.. Thanks.

hi DTBrum,
touchflo - i never liked it too, don't know which files are responsible for its running and if it could be removed, seems like it's part of needed htc drivers to me, but this will switch it off completely:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\OEM\TFLOSettings]
"EnableScroll"=dword:00000000
"EnableCube"=dword:00000000
you need a registry editor to change those values.
===
you can't replace gui, or you can theoretically but what you mean is sort of launcher, or today manager. I tried more and didn't like any, they all seems to be laggy to me.
windows in default uses today screen and start menu, it's the same way as in pc edition, there are folders with shortcuts in them for start menu
look in \windows\start menu folder. and on today screen, you can set what you want to see there in settings/today
I use start replacement called quickmenu which is a very small prg with lots of tweaks.
if you don't like those fancy launchers and controls, better you make your own rom. it's very easy with tools from xda. nearly all custom roms lite or full you'll find here have some kind of launchers and today replacement already in them and it's hard to remove or disable them.
there is a lot of different apps like iLauncher, you can install/uninstall.
no one will recommend you any custom rom here, you need to go through trying one after another because everybody's preferences differs. look in wiki.
automatic connect. no, there is no way to disable this. you can use app called 'nodata' but then you'll have to run it to enable/disable every time you want to use internet. But it solves problems in roaming.
Some programs can be set to not auto dial. and another option is, you can set a fake internet connection, make it default and then when you want to go online you'll dial the real one manually. But you may find that some programs would not want to use other then default connection.
and don't get discouraged here on forum, some people are smart here, true, but not all of us here get born that way.

Thankx for the replies.
What I found with touchflo was that there are occasions where I try to scroll from left to right and nothing happens, then all of a sudden I find it has selected something like maps or internet and the phone is trying to connect to the net. Then it starts responding normally. So as a front end user interface for me I'm not that keen on it. Also I can't see a way to remove the categories sucj as maps, and add my own. I have a registry editor and will try changing the values suggested and see if that helps. I'll do a search for the other bits recommended.
Apologies ChumleyEX, not sure if I used the correct terminology. For me a program such as touchflo is an alternative GUI that sits on top of the windows GUI. Just want to know if there are better, more reliable ones. Doesn't have to be fancy. I want to be able to customise it and for it to be quick and responsive.

Sorry I'm sure I was too harsh, I was feeling a little too good last night.

No problem ChumleyEX - no harm done.
Papo - thanks for you time and help, you cleared a few things up for me. Registry edited and touchflo now disabled.
As I said I've only had this device a week and only just found this site recently, so I'm not really up on the terminology so I'm hoping you can look past my shortcomings please. I'll get there. I'm no novice with pc's or pda's but I'm not in the same league as most people on here I admit.
My question about installing an alternative to touchflo was because some of these other programs such as ilauncher like to be installed to the device memory rather than storage card. I don't want to find I start running low on resources so I was contemplating flashing the phone with a wm6.5 lite version with all the MS bloatware removed and adding a launcher/today screen manager afterwards. At least this way if I don't like a particular one I could un-install that. I have no option to remove touchflo.
I was hoping that by describing what I was after people would recommend something that fits the bill. But for now I keep looking at the roms and reading the comments until I find one I like the look of. There is some really nice work here on this site - so tempted to give it a go. I guess we all like different things so it's a matter of personal choice really. Key for me is functionality/responsiveness. It's no good if the interface gets in the way no matter how good it looks.
Off to read some reviews of roms on here now. I'll check out t.i.r element v5 as suggested by agent1001 first.

dude, stop fretting and just try out as many ROMs as you can...and remember to search and read a LOT! it will help in the long run to build your concepts.
i have TWO more suggestions/clarifications for you:
1. you might have big fingers, but what i suspect is that you are using your device as if it has a capacitive screen...which it doesn't. the kaiser (like many htc phones) has a resistive screen. essentially, what this means is that the screen will respond best with a good amount of pressure, applied at a point. so the best suggestion i can give you that will tremendously improve your experience with the device is...use your finger NAILS! the effect is as if you are using a stylus and once you get used to it, any "GUI" will become usable.
2. what you call a "GUI" is not a GUI, technically. this is what chumleyex was alluding to. these "GUIs" run as today screen plugins. they are just that...they are "today screen plugins"...also called "home screen" in other contexts of discussion. you can have many such plugins installed on your device. you can even have many such plugins running at once on your today screen. however, some take over the today screen completely, so you can only use them exclusively. manila2d/manila3d, spb mobile shell, and quite a few others are such kinds of today screen plugins. installing multiple such plugins only takes up storage space. RUNNING multiple such plugins is like running many applications at once...which will consume memory and may slow down the phone, etc, etc.
as always, you should have read the forum rules...which clearly state that "best of" threads or "suggest me a <insert requirement here>" style threads are against the forum rules. which leads me to believe that you probably haven't read the other "stickies" and "wikis" either. start there and then you'll find yourself asking a lot less basic questions that clutter up the forum. don't be surprised if this thread is closed soon by a forum mod. cheers.

Thanks ASCIIker - screen is more responsive with more pressure. Guess I was worried about cracking it.
I did do loads of reading before posting - mainly to do with how to, hard spl, soft spl, roms, radio threads. Sorry if I missed the bit about asking for recommendations.

DTBrum said:
I don't want to find I start running low on resources so I was contemplating flashing the phone with a wm6.5 lite version with all the MS bloatware removed and adding a launcher/today screen manager afterwards. At least this way if I don't like a particular one I could un-install that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get the feeling that you think those fancy things in full custom ROMs are taking up space. they are not. and not using them, disabling them, or deleting shortcuts from start menu would do the same as uninstalling.
you've got:
flash memory - (ROM)
int. memory - think about it as HDD: depends, typicaly little over 100MB
RAM, operating memory, like on PC another 100MB: to be used by progs.
those names differs, to add confusion, some refers to int.memory as ROM
MS bloatware & fancy stuff from custom ROMs which you don't want could still rest in peace in ROM and not bothering you. you'll still have your 100MB int.mem. And as long as they are not actively running you still will have 100 RAM and no processor power used. but exactly like mentioned every plugin on today screen means it's running too. get an fdc task manager or alternative to see all processes and other stuff running. (not just tasks) You can find a way to disable nearly everything.
I have no option to remove touchflo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there is any. even with ultra lite, i could be mistaken with this, but i tried hard and it looks like it's part of required htc drivers. so you only could disable it...at least! i hated it too no matter about fingers. it seems better on htc pro2 anyway.
But for now I keep looking at the roms and reading the comments until I find one I like the look of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, the look would be the main difference i'll say.
but if you want functionality/responsiveness, than you probably better stick with using start button and today screen without unnecessary additions.
* installing on SD card means it will go much slower and (at least on my kaiser) will sometime create errors on card from crashed apps and when I dropped phone or it died w/o shutdown or when contacts on SD card get loosed. many times I even lost complete SD contents.
You have 100MB of int.mem!! it would love to be used by progs.
I suggest you to try all of available and up-to-date custom ROMs then after getting an idea of what is doing what, just mix your own rom. it's a matter of check-in what you want inside basically. and you can add your own stuff too. like programs you buy or are not in any ROM. I have over 110MB of programs fitted in ROM and still 100MB int.mem. and speed of the device and ram is not affected too, because i let only 3 - 4 apps from that running in background.

Well I've tried flashing it and had to visit the toilet as things didn't go well.
I flashed with a lite rom, plan being to leave enough free space on the device to install a nice front end/today screen/touchflo etc to the device when I settled on one I liked.
Rom flashed fine - quite like it.
Radio didn't go well. Got stuck at the dreaded tri coloured screen.
Mtty.exe didn't recover it either.
Visited toilet.
Flashed back to standard rom from manufacturer. All now back up and running.
Have changed underpants.
At least I was able to use the info on here to get it back up and running OK.
Problem was a write error flashing the suggested radio - at 99% got an error 226.

DTBrum said:
plan being to leave enough free space on the device to install
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
check my previous post.
try flashing from SD card, a lot of troubles with cable/pc/connector
format small (256MB) SD card with FAT32,
rename ruu_signed.nbh file to KAISIMG.NBH place on root of SD
hold camera button and start or reset pda

I think to be honest I'm a little paranoid about keeping the device memory free. The reason is my wife has an O2 Orbit which was running wm5. It has been updated to WM6 and she has very little free storage memory at all on the device to the point where we have struggled getting some programs installed. I know most give you the option to install to storage card or device, but some don't. Also the ones that do install on the storage card often put some files onto the device, such as help or configuration files.
I know this HTC has a lot more memory so it probably isn't an issue in reality.
I'm up to speed about the different types of memory and whether an app is consuming processing power or just storage space depending upon if it running or not. I just didn't have a chance to read your reply before I posted- wife wanted the PC back. And I was relieved just to have the phone back working.
Papo - thanks for you help. Really appreciate it.

I had my tilt for 2 years and never worried about memory.

OK, flashed the phone a couple of times yesterday and I've now found a rom I like a lot. Even the GUI - touchflo - works like a dream and with the programs that came with the rom I can even customise it how I like. It's smooth, quick and I am yet to discover a bug.
I'll give it a run for a couple of weeks and if I decide to keep this then I'll donate.
Interestingly I flashed back to stock rom from T Mobile through links I found on here. Worked without a problem, provided a 6ft+ 16stone bloke is happy with everything in pink. So I then flashed back to the standard HTC rom wm6.1 and had lots of problems. Basic things like selecting tick boxes didn't even work well.
I understand that everyone wants different things from their phones, how they look etc and that is why it is impossible to say which rom is best. But through this site, I have a customised phone that runs so smooth and quickly and looks damn smart. So at the moment I am well chuffed.
The only really difficulty I encountered was I lost all my contacts. Activesync wouldn't restore them and the backup I took was incomplete as I only backed up the sim and not the phone. D'oh. Anyway I've now sorted this out as I found all the old contacts in outlook deleted items. I restored them back to the contacts folder and synced them again and it's all now back up and running.
Off to have a play
If she lets me I may even flash the wifes O2 Orbit XDA. It's been upgraded from wm5 to wm6 and the new rom leaves very little free memory on the device itself and we do struggle at times getting some software onto it. The version of TomTom I have doesn't let you choose where to install it to, it just goes onto the device. I have manually moved it back to the SD card and made new shortcuts etc, but I feel a new rom from this site would be the way to go.
Thank you to all who helped me.

DTBrum said:
difficulty I encountered was I lost all my contacts. Activesync wouldn't restore them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
activeSync & outlook played tricks on me too, deleting or doubling all contacts... even easier than backing up by backup program, is to copy 'RAW' database in pda before re-flashing. it's all in one file called PIM.VOL in root of phone. calendar is there as well. you can copy this to SD and upon reflashing copy back to root of pda and see what PC's outlook will have to say to it. or just keep on SD as 2nd backup.
note, the file may be locked by running programs (contacts, messages, home plugin) kill them from taskman in that case.
The version of TomTom I have doesn't let you choose where to install it to, it just goes onto the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tomtom app is two files tomtom nav.exe and data.chk, put them anywhere you like and the rest, config files, will be created by it.
but it runs really slow from SD. and taking 13MB, so again, it's best to have them in ROM.