Database Develop

Comment in config.txt in ext rom and skipping screen align

Thanks for all the help. Just a few days ago I couldn't boil water and now I'm upgrading Radio Stacks and Cooking Ext ROM. Couldn't have done it without your help.
I found a post the other day about how to bypass the screen alignment on a hard reset for the 100th time. I have lost track of the post and can't find it. I tried searching for align with no luck. Does anyone know where the post is or how to skip align? Thanks in advance.
In the mean time I'm working my way through config.txt deleting stuff I don't use. So far I'm just deleting the references in config.txt.
Is there a way to make a line a comment in config.txt? I would love to preserve the line I'm testing deleting so if I need it I can uncomment it. I have a good backup of the whole ext rom including config.txt
Thanks again

Re: Comment in config.txt in ext rom and skipping screen ali
To disable calibration you should create a file named "welcome.not" (without quotes) in the root directory of your storage card or in your "\storage" folder. I have not tested that, but this is written in MS docs. This will skip the whole "welcome" process and may cause Extended_ROM programs not to be installed.
To comment a line in a config.txt you can try to place any symbol in the beginning of the line. It seems that autorun.exe ignores the lines it cannot understand.

It needs to be in \storage card. Having it in \storage doesn't work.
Beware... unless you preload your calibration settings, you will find
that a never-calibrated display probably won't let you get to the
screen alignment control panel.
The other "missing" function is timezone setting, but that can be preloaded in the registry (since it's not device dependent) or entered through its normal control panel.
I've asked one of the guys on PDAPhoneHome to put together a native app that calls the screen alignment routine.
Ehud

gavron said:
It needs to be in \storage card. Having it in \storage doesn't work.
Beware... unless you preload your calibration settings, you will find
that a never-calibrated display probably won't let you get to the
screen alignment control panel.
The other "missing" function is timezone setting, but that can be preloaded in the registry (since it's not device dependent) or entered through its normal control panel.
I've asked one of the guys on PDAPhoneHome to put together a native app that calls the screen alignment routine.
Ehud
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bet the calibration values are stored in the registry somewhere... maybe they could be exported (along with time zone) and then imported as part of the extended rom install... end result is auto-calibrated screen and correct time zone without rescheduling that dentist appointment with Dr. Johnson!
Dan

They are stored, and easily copied. Trouble is, they are device-dependent (different from touch screen to touch screen), wouldn't work if you replaced your device... and may drift from time to time.
IvanLasston came up with a method of getting to it with hard keys only which is fairly clever... using the up/down pad and the keyboard-tab to switch tabs... works like a charm.
E

Yeah I meant we could incorporate the registry entries into our own personal cooked extroms. Of course, going through the setup process after each hard reset really only takes 15 seconds or so...
Dan

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\TOUCH]
"CalibrationData"="508,518 155,255 155,778 861,783 869,255"
That's mine. It's now part of platformxxx.reg in Customize.sa.CAB
You'll note that it's clearly of the format
C(X,Y) UL(X,Y) LL(X,Y) LR(X,Y) UR(X,Y)
Ehud

How to make changes to HTC homescreen...

Hello!
I would like to make som changes to the preinnstalled homecreen on my HTC s730, but i don't know how. I like it as it is now, but the weather service and the top ten person i would like to cut away. Somebody who know how I can do that? Is it possible to do other changes on it too?

Yeah, theres an XML file in the windows dir I believe of the phone that you can edit and make changes too, I added the most used programs under my calander while I try to find something for that contacts bit I never use.
There was another thread where people were posting pics of what they had done and had more tips, but essentially you just edit that xml. I dont recall the name for sure but it was something like HTChome.xml or something like that, not at home ATM or I would be of more use lol...

the files have the suffix .home.xml
http://forums.sbsh.net/index.php?showtopic=5203

yep
i lost my htc home screem
can you help me and send me yours?
thanks

10332007 said:
Yeah, theres an XML file in the windows dir I believe of the phone that you can edit and make changes too, I added the most used programs under my calander while I try to find something for that contacts bit I never use.
There was another thread where people were posting pics of what they had done and had more tips, but essentially you just edit that xml. I dont recall the name for sure but it was something like HTChome.xml or something like that, not at home ATM or I would be of more use lol...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you do that? When I try to find the windows folder (via active sync) It won't show up on my pc screen, but when i use the HTC i fid the folder. How come is that? I can find the folder Home, with the preinnstalled windows homescreen bur not the HTC homescreen. It seems like it's not visible(?).

kjeg1 said:
How did you do that? When I try to find the windows folder (via active sync) It won't show up on my pc screen, but when i use the HTC i fid the folder. How come is that? I can find the folder Home, with the preinnstalled windows homescreen bur not the HTC homescreen. It seems like it's not visible(?).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yea... they're hidden files... you have to enable viewing hidden files in windows explorer to see them.

What ^he said I always enable hidden file viewing every time I format so I didnt think to post it

bigflavor said:
Oh yea... they're hidden files... you have to enable viewing hidden files in windows explorer to see them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx
Now I've got another problem. Because the weather service and the top ten person is defined in the following file in reg. {B0C8Ac4B-CddC-4010-AAEB-076A2A6EB171}, but this file is just a path to another file HTCHome.dll. My problem here is that I can't find the file HTCHome.dll. I just find a bunch of HTCHome.dll files. All of them has an ending of *.mui. Like HTCHome.dll.0809.mui. and I can't open them eather. Somebody knows what to do?
And thanx for the help from everybody so far

Anybody please? I'm pretty green in this

Where are you seeing those? Are you sure your in the right section of the phones file system for the home screens?
Connect through active sync, then open "My window's based device" then go into application data, then Home and mine are all in there as .xml

10332007 said:
Where are you seeing those? Are you sure your in the right section of the phones file system for the home screens?
Connect through active sync, then open "My window's based device" then go into application data, then Home and mine are all in there as .xml
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have found the file HTC.home.xls and opend it, inside the xml document I find this line of code:
<plugin clsid="{B0C8AC4B-CDDC-4010-AAEB-076A2A6EB171}" name="HTCHome" height="100" />
I have managed to fint out (at least I think so) that it is this plugin who shows the clock, the weaterservice and the top ten persons. When I found the B0C8AC4B-CDDC-4010-AAEB-076A2A6EB171} in regedit the value of this key is HTCHome.dll. When i search the whole phone for this dll file i can't find the spesific file, just a bunch of "lookalikes" like HTCHome.dll.0809.mui. This file is located in the windows directory with 5 dll files like this one, but with different numbers at the end. (ex. *.dll.041D.mui and so on). Or am I totally wrong here? Maybe it's a easier way to do this? (Make the weater service and top ten in the homescreen disappear).

kjeg1 said:
I have found the file HTC.home.xls and opend it, inside the xml document I find this line of code:
<plugin clsid="{B0C8AC4B-CDDC-4010-AAEB-076A2A6EB171}" name="HTCHome" height="100" />
I have managed to fint out (at least I think so) that it is this plugin who shows the clock, the weaterservice and the top ten persons. When I found the B0C8AC4B-CDDC-4010-AAEB-076A2A6EB171} in regedit the value of this key is HTCHome.dll. When i search the whole phone for this dll file i can't find the spesific file, just a bunch of "lookalikes" like HTCHome.dll.0809.mui. This file is located in the windows directory with 5 dll files like this one, but with different numbers at the end. (ex. *.dll.041D.mui and so on). Or am I totally wrong here? Maybe it's a easier way to do this? (Make the weater service and top ten in the homescreen disappear).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good work. Each CLSID is a different plugin. Each value nested within the CLSID is a modifier. If you want, say... the Most Recently Used items on your HTC home screen... take a look at the contents of one of the .home.xml files that has the MRU listed... and copy out the whole portion of the file that contains the information. They're even indented.

bigflavor said:
Good work. Each CLSID is a different plugin. Each value nested within the CLSID is a modifier. If you want, say... the Most Recently Used items on your HTC home screen... take a look at the contents of one of the .home.xml files that has the MRU listed... and copy out the whole portion of the file that contains the information. They're even indented.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha, this is really good to know =)
But what to do when I want to remove something in a plug in, is that possible at all? In the plug in i talked about in my last post, there is three functions.
Number one shows the clock and makes it easier to acsess the alarm setting directly (without have to do so via configuration -> clock and alarm),
number two is the HTC Home weather service
and number three is favourite persons.
I wan't to remove the two last functions in this plug in.

kjeg1 said:
Aha, this is really good to know =)
But what to do when I want to remove something in a plug in, is that possible at all? In the plug in i talked about in my last post, there is three functions.
Number one shows the clock and makes it easier to acsess the alarm setting directly (without have to do so via configuration -> clock and alarm),
number two is the HTC Home weather service
and number three is favourite persons.
I wan't to remove the two last functions in this plug in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's quite possible that there is no way to only display parts of the plugin... as this function would have to be programmed into the plugin itself.
Take a look at the other plugins... like the one that shows appointments... you will see that there are portions labeled "text" which is the place where the text would be... you could... in essence... remove this part and have it not display text, but the plugin would still be present.
I hate to say it... but without HTC having programmed a solution to handle your request... you're better off using Facade.

bigflavor said:
It's quite possible that there is no way to only display parts of the plugin... as this function would have to be programmed into the plugin itself.
Take a look at the other plugins... like the one that shows appointments... you will see that there are portions labeled "text" which is the place where the text would be... you could... in essence... remove this part and have it not display text, but the plugin would still be present.
I hate to say it... but without HTC having programmed a solution to handle your request... you're better off using Facade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okai, I just have to live with it the hehe.
I have finally found out how to use fascade in i properly way. I actually don't need to use the default fascade homescreen (who by the way is quite terrible), but I can just use the plug ins. Is there by the way any clock plug in (maybe in fascade?) who makes it possible to set the alarm easy without going thru configuration? If there is, I can just remove the whole plug in in HTCHome and replace it with this.

Hi..nice to see some Homescreen-Interested guys here.
First;
The HTC-Live Homescreen-Plugin is limited to his Functions (Time,Weather,Favs) and not customizeable, there maybe a solution to edit some images like Weather-Icons or the Time-Font,thats all...not like his big Brother on HTC Touch(better to configure,two more Functions, MRU and MusicPlugin).
Sorry.
You can add and move any plugin on your Phone by editing the XML, but dont ask me for an HowTo,please...look into the other xxx.home.xml, it is really easy to customize the HomeScreen.
Some Infos:
The Plugin itself is in /Windows/HTCHome.dll, the .mui Files are LanguageFiles, you can modify and rename them to translate the plugin into your own Language, the HH_WEATHER_01-44.png and all the other HH_blabla...png files are the Images for the Clock,WeatherIcons...,
Happy editing...

kjeg1 said:
Aha, this is really good to know =)
But what to do when I want to remove something in a plug in, is that possible at all? In the plug in i talked about in my last post, there is three functions.
Number one shows the clock and makes it easier to acsess the alarm setting directly (without have to do so via configuration -> clock and alarm),
number two is the HTC Home weather service
and number three is favourite persons.
I wan't to remove the two last functions in this plug in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too, I wanted to remove those two services. I took some fiddling with the xml-file and several plugins, but I managed to make something that looks quite like the Htc Home screen but has just the functionality I want.
Big other advantage is that I now suffer a lot less of the famous memory leaks.
See the result below.

jvlerick said:
Me too, I wanted to remove those two services. I took some fiddling with the xml-file and several plugins, but I managed to make something that looks quite like the Htc Home screen but has just the functionality I want.
Big other advantage is that I now suffer a lot less of the famous memory leaks.
See the result below.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please post your .home.xml file!

yeah - can you post the .home.xml for your fake HTC theme? it looks real nice!
thanks

What are these programs doing in startup?

I noticed in all Diamond ROMs there are a few programs which are always loaded at startup, but I doubt if that's necessary.
I mean these:
1. BioTouch.exe. Needed with the Cube but nowadays useless? When I kill this program nothing's wrong (I believe).
2. Opera9.exe and OperaPreL.exe. Why are they loaded? When I want to start Opera I simply hit the Opera link.
3. Sddaemon.exe. This program did something with the sd-card I believe. But we don't have an SD-card anymore.
4. SAPSettings.exe. For other devices to connect/use my Diamond or so? I don't need it...
5. Some other: MediaHubMini.exe, APLauncher.
Anyone can explain why they're there and know how we can get rid of it?
For some programs (BoiTouch.exe and SAPSettings.exe) I use a dummy file of 0 Kb and copy these to my \windows. So these programs don't start.
I just want a clean memory without any unnecessary ****.
EDIT: Seems the BoiTouch.exe is needed to scroll left/right in sms, internet.

1. BioTouch.exe. Needed with the Cube but nowadays useless? When I kill this program nothing's wrong (I believe).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
at least at this one i can answer. it was discussed in an another post (don't remember witch). after somebody has the guts to test it by stopping it the conclusion was that once stopped you are not going to be able to switch between yr e-mails with the horizontal swipe.

KukurikU said:
at least at this one i can answer. it was discussed in an another post (don't remember witch). after somebody has the guts to test it by stopping it the conclusion was that once stopped you are not going to be able to switch between yr e-mails with the horizontal swipe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you're right, I just read it. Will edit first post.

They are my questions either!
1. BioTouch.exe. Needed with the Cube but nowadays useless? When I kill this program nothing's wrong (I believe).
2. Opera9.exe and OperaPreL.exe. Why are they loaded? When I want to start Opera I simply hit the Opera link.
3. Sddaemon.exe. This program did something with the sd-card I believe. But we don't have an SD-card anymore.
4. SAPSettings.exe. For other devices to connect/use my Diamond or so? I don't need it...
5. Some other: MediaHubMini.exe, APLauncher.
Please keep testing! I killed all these processes once and nothing happend. I guess till we find out the exac explanations it is good idea about dummy files - I will do it.
Any other experience? Please post it!

And how do you stop them? Are they in the Startup folder? Don't have the phone on me (duh) but I don't remember them being there...

krakout said:
And how do you stop them? Are they in the Startup folder? Don't have the phone on me (duh) but I don't remember them being there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some are, some aren't. but as I said: you can replace them in your \windows map with a file of 0 bytes. then they won't be started. when you want to go back to the original just delete it in \windows...
as stated before: BoiTouch.exe is needed to scroll left/right in some applications!

In my startup folder are:
- AutoShortcut
- HTCStartUp
- poutlook

RSkillz said:
In my startup folder are:
- AutoShortcut
- HTCStartUp
- poutlook
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I have exactly the same entries as well as "Wktask" (I know what this is) and "Services" ...
If I can move the the 3 you mention above, it would be great But I don't want to blow apart my device ("Services" looks serious and "poutlook" looks like mail related which I rely on!)
Regards,
Gary.

good ppl! you are playing with fire and the bad, bad hard reset is going to eat you!

i have deleted the files in startup folder
and this regkeys also
HKLM\init
- Launch4: - Launch19: - Launch98: - Launch99: - Launch100: - Launch110:
- Launch120: - Depend100: - Depend110: - Depend120:
you can see in the picture, some tasks are deleted,
and works perfect (with some tweaks), no problems.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INFORMATION<<<<<<<<<<<<
``3. Sddaemon.exe. This program did something with the sd-card I believe. But we don't have an SD-card anymore.``
>>this is something about the VoiceDial/VoiceApplication not SD-card<<
take a look @google or search on DEV`s.
my device
HTC`Diamond
ROM-Version>>1.37 .407.2 GER
ROM-Date>>06/15/08
RadioVers.>>1. 00.25.03
ProtokollVers.>>52.26a.25.09W

how does sddaemon.exe get started? i don't see it listed in startup folder and init registry.
sddemon = Speed Dial Daemon
I guess I should leave it alone.

I don;t do anything with the speeddial, so I'd like to know how to get rid of it

xwaiz said:
how does sddaemon.exe get started? i don't see it listed in startup folder and init registry.
sddemon = Speed Dial Daemon
I guess I should leave it alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think sddaemon has nothing to do with speeddial, it is needed for "Voice Dial or Voice Command". So you can safely delete it if you don't use voice command.

pietrucci said:
some are, some aren't. but as I said: you can replace them in your \windows map with a file of 0 bytes. then they won't be started. when you want to go back to the original just delete it in \windows...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it works...
mTHX
greets

mxip files ... please prove me wrong :)

In learning how to cook from the many good resources on this site I have read in several places that the contents of the mxip* provxml files will get re-written on every device boot. This means that some changes to the regsitry must be cooked in, or they will be lost on a reboot.
One such thread/post that details this is here.
Now the official thread from MSDN on these files is here, and it says this:
An Image Update Package can contain two types of provisioning files:
Cold boot files that will be processed by Configuration Manager only when the device is cold booted. The provisioning file name must have one of the following formats:
mxipcold_PACKAGENAME_*.provxml
or
mxip_PACKAGENAME_*.provxml
where PACKAGENAME is the name of Image Update package.
These files should contain settings that you intend to be applied only during cold boot.
Update files that will be processed by Configuration Manager both when the device is cold booted and, if their associated packages have been updated, during Image Update. The provisioning file name must have the following format:
mxipupdate_PACKAGENAME_*.provxml
All settings contained in these files will be re-applied whenever their associated packages are updated, regardless of whether they have or have not changed. Therefore, these files should only contain settings that you intend to be reapplied every time their packages are updated.
Microsoft recommends that you use a three-digit number in the name of your .provxml files in ROM, such as mxip_opr_100, mxip_opr_200, mxip_opr_300, so that there is an adequate number of ordinals to identify successive versions of the file.
Note Mobile Operators should avoid using provxml files to override (shadow) entries in Microsoft-owned provxml files​Note Mxip_*_*.provxml is imported only at cold boot when the device is initially configured. In effect, mxip_*_*.provxml and mxipcold_*_*.provxml are handled the same.​Note Mxipupdate_*_*.provxml files are imported after cold boot and when the package containing them is updated.​Now the reason I am posting is based on my experience and the underlined section above. This seems to state that a "cold boot" is equal to "when the device is initially configured."
What this means is that these mxip files DO get processed on a cold boot, but that a cold boot does not mean a reset/full-power off, but rather a CLEAR STORAGE.
My own tests show this to be the case. For instance, I have taken reg entries from several mxip, mxipupdate, and mxipcold PROVXML files which shipped with the latest AT&T stock ROM (decompiled with KaiserKitchen).
When I delete these values on my device THEY DO NOT COME BACK AFTER A REBOOT.
Based on these two facts it would seem to me that any statement which claims that these provxml files re-write the registry at every reboot is incorrect.
I would love for this to be corroborated by others or in fact, I would love to be proven this incorrect.
Not only do I want to know what it right...but I have a particular instance where a registry key is getting re-written at every boot. This value being overwritten is not defined in any XML, so my assumption is a DLL or other system service is resetting it. At this point, the particular value is not important to the discussion but if indeed there were a way to define in a provxml file a registry key which would be overwritten at reboot, that would be helpful.
Please advise!
thx

Anyone?
I'm looking for any proof that any xml files cooked into a ROM can reset registry entries on a standard reboot.
Cold-reboot = hard-reset, and as such yes all your provisioning files will re-run.
However it seems to me that the only thing which would re-apply a registry key would be a service/application/driver which is hard coded to do so and not anything specified in a provisioning file.

bengalih said:
Anyone?
I'm looking for any proof that any xml files cooked into a ROM can reset registry entries on a standard reboot.
Cold-reboot = hard-reset, and as such yes all your provisioning files will re-run.
However it seems to me that the only thing which would re-apply a registry key would be a service/application/driver which is hard coded to do so and not anything specified in a provisioning file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If by "standard reboot" you mean soft reset then of course no settings are loaded into registry from any of your provisioning or other XMLs (unless you have some specifically set to be loaded at start up). The registry settings stay the same as you had them before soft reset.
But obviously they are read and loaded into reg after every hard reset, not only because autorun (customization) starts after hard reset - what does not happen after soft reset - but also because registry itself is recreated 'from scratch' after hard reset, *with* the settings from your XMLs (of course if there are pointers to them in your settings, otherwise even if they are there they will be 'excluded' or 'omitted' and become what I call "ghost files" - a files that don't do nothing but taking up space /edit: best example of XML "ghost file" is i.e. config.xml which didn't have its pointer in Config.txt thus all its registry settings were entirely omitted on every hard reset, as I saw in one of the ROMs).
You won't find "any proof that any xml files cooked into a ROM can reset registry entries on a standard reboot" because it is impossible (again - if by standard reboot you mean soft reset and not hard reset).

Thanks for your reply. What you are saying backs up what my beliefs are and my experience suggests. I don't want to call anyone out for providing false information (unintentionally I'm sure). But I have seen several posts by well regarded members that speak differently.
-888- said:
If by "standard reboot" you mean soft reset then of course no settings are loaded into registry from any of your provisioning or other XMLs (unless you have some specifically set to be loaded at start up). The registry settings stay the same as you had them before soft reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, I agree. However how do you explain this post and the others in the thread supporting the fact that a certain registry setting must be cooked in and will not survive a reboot?:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2106160#post2106160
Also, what do you mean by "unless you have some specifically set to be loaded at start up"? How do you have a registry key specifically set to be loaded at start up? All regsitry keys are loaded at start-up (obviously). I pick out this comment because maybe this is the crux of the issue, if there is something I am unaware of. Are you saying there is a section in the registry that will automatically load certaind reg entries at boot (effectively overwriting them)? I would be unaware of anything like this, so please explain the statement.
-888- said:
But obviously they are read and loaded into reg after every hard reset, not only because autorun (customization) starts after hard reset - what does not happen after soft reset - but also because registry itself is recreated 'from scratch' after hard reset, *with* the settings from your XMLs (of course if there are pointers to them in your settings, otherwise even if they are there they will be 'excluded' or 'omitted' and become what I call "ghost files" - a files that don't do nothing but taking up space /edit: best example of XML "ghost file" is i.e. config.xml which didn't have its pointer in Config.txt thus all its registry settings were entirely omitted on every hard reset, as I saw in one of the ROMs).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this pretty accurate. However, I think technically the registry is created at cooking from the .REG files. The .REG files combine to make the .hv files, which are basically the flat file system that gets loaded to make the registry. The .XMLs which contain registry entries then get additionally loaded during customization, but the majority of the registry already exists in the .hv files. Would you agree?
-888- said:
You won't find "any proof that any xml files cooked into a ROM can reset registry entries on a standard reboot" because it is impossible (again - if by standard reboot you mean soft reset and not hard reset).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, ok, I am thinking as much. But still would like to understand why posts like the one I referenced claim that settings need to be cooked in or they will be lost on a reboot. These posts clearly seem to mean a standard-reboot, as a user who makes a regsitry change would obviously expect that change to be lost on a hard-reset. These posts definitly infer that the changes get lost on a "standard" reboot.

Cold Boot = Hard Reset or Clear Storage or Nand/OS Format (via Mtty/Ptty)
Provisioning xml's are most typically used by Operators to limit functionality, i.e AT&T uses them to disable the "Multiple Data Sessions Hack" by changing the AGPN RIL settings. These are used to overwrite certain registry settings established on boot before the OS even loads. Similarly, the standard provxml files do NOTHING, unless called for. This does not happen at a soft reset, only at hard reset & the difference is in the type of registry setting you are targeting. As stated before, some registry settings are loaded very early into the boot cycle, before the os even initializes, & are persistent so that they cannot be changed manually period. The RIL settings, used to enable the use of MediaNet & BBC concurrently are one such example. Provisioning Xml's only run when called for or when manually initiated with the use of a program capable of importing the xml's, such as SKTools.
There are indeed many setting that will revert when a soft reset is made.

bengalih said:
Again, I agree. However how do you explain this post and the others in the thread supporting the fact that a certain registry setting must be cooked in and will not survive a reboot?:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2106160#post2106160
These posts clearly seem to mean a standard-reboot, as a user who makes a regsitry change would obviously expect that change to be lost on a hard-reset. These posts definitly infer that the changes get lost on a "standard" reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think these guys are gettin confused with reboots... maybe i'm wrong, but they also said that the hives get rebuilt on every reboot, i really doubt it...
agreed that provxml files only apply to a hard reset, but also did a little testing with that particular reg key... changed both values, reboot, activesync'd and surfed the net, reboot, same values, changed them back to original, reboot, everything sticks... i don't know what these guys are talking about, but it doesn't make any sense...
also, i can't find those settings in the stock att provxml files in OperatorPKG...

Thanks for replying GSLEON3. I understand everything you are saying about PROVXMLs, and I think we are on the same page, but I am still confused about some things you are saying...
For example in your post about the AGPSNVSetting. You state that you need to change it in the PROVXML file. You also state:
THIS HAS TO BE COOKED IN, REG EDITS AFTER INSTALLING WILL NOT STICK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My question is, what do you mean by it won't stick? If I go in with a registry editor after I have flashed the ROM and try to change it from 6 to 5. What happens? Either:
A) When I reboot the value will revert back to 6.
B) The value will remain at the 5 I set it to, but it won't actually work.
If the answer is A, then I ask how? How does it get set back to 6 if we established that the PROVXML files only get run during a cold boot/reset?
If the answer is B, then i ask how? A reg entry is a reg entry is a reg entry. If the value is set to 5, then whatever service reads that value should be seeing a 5. It shouldn't matter if that value was originally 6, as long as it is now 5 (and remains that way after a reboot).
This also leads into the comment you just made:
some registry settings are loaded very early into the boot cycle, before the os even initializes, & are persistent so that they cannot be changed manually period
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Click to collapse
I don't know if I totally agree with that. I think it depends when the OS loads. I would think that since all your registry entries are stored in the .hv file on your device that the OS needs to load first in order to initizlize the drivers to read that .hv file and mount it to the registry. That might just be nit-picky if you mean before you get the higher leverl drivers and GUI initialized.
But, the question still is what makes them "persistent so that they cannot be changed"?
In summary, a provxml only writes a reg entry ONCE, on cold boot/reset. This value appears in my experiments to be able to be changed afterwards and sticks (meaning it stays the same value after a normal reboot). Why then would a registry entry need cooking in instead of just a manual change afterwards?
I am not trying to argue here, OR prove you wrong.. I am just really trying to understand why you state what you do.
Thanks!

If you change the registry and then soft reset via pressing the reset button within a few seconds upto even a couple minutes then your edit is lost, as the registry is cached in ram and only written out after a bit...
You can get an edit to "stick" by
doing the change, then wait a bit, then power off, then power on, then wait a bit, then soft reset. All the above it to convince WinMO to flush the cache.
Or use any software-based soft reset (those let the OS know its resetting, so it flushes the reg cache.
Either that, or there is something running in the background resetting registry entries. HTC_Guardian, for example, is/was an app used to reset connection settings, at least under sprint. That evil thing slammed the "correct" values into the registry every 5 minutes or so... what a waste.
In either case, the proxml things only run on a hard reset/first boot init.

schettj said:
If you change the registry and then soft reset via pressing the reset button within a few seconds upto even a couple minutes then your edit is lost, as the registry is cached in ram and only written out after a bit...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback. I don't buy that however (at least not on the Kaiser). I can make a regsitry change with say, PHM and the split-second after I make that change I push in the reset button... that change is kept.
If it does that for one reg entry, it should do that for all. I don't believe that some entries get cached like that and other don't
schettj said:
Either that, or there is something running in the background resetting registry entries. HTC_Guardian, for example, is/was an app used to reset connection settings, at least under sprint. That evil thing slammed the "correct" values into the registry every 5 minutes or so... what a waste.
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Click to collapse
See, I think you are correct here. I believe that in all the cases where I have seen a registry entry get reset on a reboot is because a driver is hard coded to reset it at boot time. On the latest AT&T release for instance if you change the LockLevel for backlight it is always reset to 0 after a reboot. There is no reference to this registry value in the rgu's or provxmls in the decompiled ROM.
schettj said:
In either case, the proxml things only run on a hard reset/first boot init.
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Click to collapse
agreed

bengalih said:
Thanks for the feedback. I don't buy that however (at least not on the Kaiser). I can make a regsitry change with say, PHM and the split-second after I make that change I push in the reset button... that change is kept.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't have to believe it, but i know this can be true. I can't speak to the cause, but i know that often times i must make my entry and then exit the program before i soft reset or my settings will not be kept. Also, I have experience many times where i will make a registry edit, and if i do not soft reset before doing anything else then my edit does not take effect. For example, i'll reply to a sms before soft resetting and my entries won't take effect. For this to be true then the original entries must be stored somewhere, at least temporarily. It certainly could depend on the software used though, and may have nothing to do with the rom. As i said, i can't speak to the reasons why this would occur as well as man others, but i can state my experiences through making thousands of registry changes.

I just tested this. 5 times, 5 different registy entries using PHM Reg Editor with both the stock AT&T and HTC 6.1 ROMs.
Each time I made a change, I pushed my stylus into the reset button immediately after clicking on OK to the change.
In every case, my registry entry remained the way I changed it to prior to boot.
I would be interested if you could recreate results to the contrary and if so what ROM and registry editor you are using.
scotchua said:
You don't have to believe it, but i know this can be true. I can't speak to the cause, but i know that often times i must make my entry and then exit the program before i soft reset or my settings will not be kept. Also, I have experience many times where i will make a registry edit, and if i do not soft reset before doing anything else then my edit does not take effect. For example, i'll reply to a sms before soft resetting and my entries won't take effect. For this to be true then the original entries must be stored somewhere, at least temporarily. It certainly could depend on the software used though, and may have nothing to do with the rom. As i said, i can't speak to the reasons why this would occur as well as man others, but i can state my experiences through making thousands of registry changes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Hard reset, softt reset, rom update, cold boot, warm boot, clear boot,image update...
Hello
I found some usefull links.
The well-known articles about mixp, mixpudate and mixpcold...:
msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms889522.aspx
msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb737254.aspx
Definitions of Power States Transitions
msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa450592.aspx
Definitios of "clean/cold/warm booting" and their issues:
msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee490762.aspx
Terms of "Image Update"
msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb737478.aspx
msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb737638.aspx
I think that a Soft-reset is like a warm-boot, a Hard-reset is like a clean-boot and you only have to remove all de batteries (all power off) to get a cold-boot. I now understand why some fellows tells to me to remove the battery two minutes .
So
remove the battery or exhausted -> cold boot -> mixp & mixpcold & mixpupdate
hard-reset -> clear boot -> mixp & mixpcold & mixpudate
soft-reset -> warm-boot -> no mixp*
rom update -> image-update of all parts of the rom -> mixp & mixpcold & mixpudate
So normally, every time that you change the rom or order a hard-reset you mobile should execute all mixp*
From time to time something goes wrong when processing mixps during the fisrt boot after a rom-update and then you need to order a hard-reset to execute all mixp*again. I suspect that this happens when hard-spl does not force a cold-boot after the rom-update process and a warm-boot happens.
Finally
File System Boot Process. Describe which and when the actions happens:
msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee490357.aspx
Best regards.

I know this reply is seriously late in coming, but I was working thru a few registry issues and fixing a few chef cooked roms and this thread popped up.
Maybe it'll help someone in the future, trying to understand this dying architecture. (Curse you M$)
What you are failing to see, is that there are several ways that provisioning xml's can be delivered. Via cab files, straight provxml file or even xml's called on startup, not justat cold/hot boot.
AT&T as well as other OEM's used to have a bad habit of SHADOWING MS or HTC registry settings (Overwritting reg values thru use of xml provisioning). AT&T would call for their OEM Network Provisioning xml to silently install at every reset, much like a 2577 cab file. The OEM can also use the OAL (OEM Adaptation Layer) to overide or change settings in the registry, even thru the use of provisioning xmls.
The old AT&T APN provisioning via cab file we saw in Kaiser & first TP rom is a very good example of bad practices with regards to xml usage.
You can also set certain reg keys to be persistent. Try deleting the "Windows Default" (CHome) today registry key. without negating the setting with a nocharacteristic xml setting or a reg such as [-hklm/current user/etc...] this key will be persitent and also cannot be deleted.
Provxml's are good for moving things & certain settings, however, I have come to believe that registry optimization is a key component in device performance & with the new HV editing tools, you are better off adding entries directly to the hive & keeping the windows directory clean & light.
I wish only more chef's would utiolize these new tools & features. Have you ever gone thru a cooked rom registry & found all of the hanging & invalid registry keys?
The common cooked rom, even from the bvest cooks at XDA, usually have anywhere from 12% to 24% of empty or invalid registry settings. On top of that, you can have upwards of 12% - 18% invalid system type registry settings & then another 24% - 28% invalid user type registry settings.
The average cooked rom has a reg size of 811088. This number when optimized with proper settings & true removal of defunct values/keys would be more in the 647000 size range. That is common for a good chef, now imagine the guy using the standard rom kitchen based on a straight OEM rom. Cooks forget that registry values come from xml's, cab's, registry hives, even some executables. Setting are often duplicated between packages and hive and OEM provisioning files. This means that just because you remove a package from your kitchen does NOT mean that all the related registry data for that package will also be removed. For this you really need to modify the hives manually with the new HV editing tools, or completely rebuild the hives using a newer kitchen like OS Builder that allows you to build HV files from scratch. even then I recommend usign HV editing tools to confirm nothing is left behind unintentionally.
An optimized registry absolutely means increased performance.

= What is PKG.EXE? =

Hello,
I have a HTC Touch Pro, and reviewing the device boot process I have called for "PKG.EXE" What it is for this executable, and what is its function within the Windows Mobile?. Thank you.
I also wanted to ask, for the experience you have with this model of HTC, and without touching the original ROM that takes (I have it under warranty still), as can optimize the use of battery power in an effective manner. I have the screen always the minimum possible, I avoid programs running in the background without the need (except for those at home), very few scheduled alarms, and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth disconnected when not in use. ActiveSync also disconnected when not in use. The phone in 2G (3G off). I note that for some time takes me barely a day battery. I just replaced the battery with a new original, and even if I'm watching longer than the load. The control program of the battery is the partner who has designed BattClock, adjusted query interval to 120 seconds.
Sincerely,

Sometimes, the easiest thing to do is open up a dll or exe with a text editor. Here's what's in pkg.exe (other than all the binary crap):
c:\Documents and Settings\Jocelyn_Yang.HTCTAIPEI\Desktop\Autorun_package_splash_2577\PKG\Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC SDK (ARMV4I)\Release\PKG.pdb
P K G . l n k % s \ % s i n s t a l l P k g A u t o r u n . e x e \ % s \ 2 5 7 7 \
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Click to collapse
So, I'd guess that Jocelyn Yang wrote it, lol. Maybe you should email her. The other thing I'd guess is that it's part of the autorun process that carries out customization.

Farmer Ted said:
Sometimes, the easiest thing to do is open up a dll or exe with a text editor. Here's what's in pkg.exe (other than all the binary crap):
So, I'd guess that Jocelyn Yang wrote it, lol. Maybe you should email her. The other thing I'd guess is that it's part of the autorun process that carries out customization.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Farmer Ted,
Thank you very much for answering.
Open the "exe" with a text editor binary, and saw nothing to give me a clue, actually left peri "Jocelyn Yang's" name in the file.
Do you think that might Elimite this call in the Windows Start Mobile (PKG.LNK) and remove this file "PKG.EXE" folder "Windows" without affecting the operation me right out of my HTC Touch Pro?. Please let me might help in this matter, not having unnecessary files on my mobile device. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,

It's in rom, so you can't delete it (no matter how hard you try). I don't have it running at startup personally, so if there's a link in your startup folder, you can probably remove it. I really doubt there will be an issue, but you should always do a backup before messing with your startup queue, in case it freezes the device and forces a hard reset.

Farmer Ted said:
It's in rom, so you can't delete it (no matter how hard you try). I don't have it running at startup personally, so if there's a link in your startup folder, you can probably remove it. I really doubt there will be an issue, but you should always do a backup before messing with your startup queue, in case it freezes the device and forces a hard reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Farmer Ted,
Thanks for answering. What if I would be interested to know is that this file is, you know what your purpose in the operating system. Google is that I have not found an explanation of this file.
Sincerely,

All I can tell you is that it's in the OEM Drivers section of the rom. I doubt it does much. There is some garbage left over in your startup folder sometimes after bootup. If you see an autoshortcut.lnk file and and HTCstartup.lnk file, you can delete both of those. They're used during customization. I'm guessing that pkg.exe runs during 1st boot, then isn't necessary, but I really don't know.

Farmer Ted said:
All I can tell you is that it's in the OEM Drivers section of the rom. I doubt it does much. There is some garbage left over in your startup folder sometimes after bootup. If you see an autoshortcut.lnk file and and HTCstartup.lnk file, you can delete both of those. They're used during customization. I'm guessing that pkg.exe runs during 1st boot, then isn't necessary, but I really don't know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Farmer Ted,
Thank you very much for answering. Well there is something more about this file. I ventured to remove it (copied to another folder before it), and I got a little scare, as before restarting the device after a soft-reset, did it again another soft-reset automatically... I thought it would go into a loop, but no... after the second soft-reset my device it definitely started. I have always taken a backup with SPB Backup, in case I completely reset the device.
I did not want to take more risks, and I left the file in your site... I think it really annoys. But thanks to you and is something more about it, but not quite... continues the mystery about it...
Sincerely,

If you have sk tools, it's got a good startup manager. It will allow you to disable/re-enable items in the startup folder, and will save the shortcuts for you. You definitely need to be careful with startup, though, as you can get into reset loops and boot-ups to frozen devices. You're probably good to go. I don't have a link to pkg.exe in my startup, so it's not something vital. The crucial stuff is all launched in HKLM\init, anyway, I believe.
Once, I just wanted a particular task manager to run at startup, so I put a link in the folder, thinking nothing of it. It caused hell. The device would boot to the today screen, then freeze as the plugins loaded, but not always at the exact same place. After about 10 resets, it got far enough along that I was able to open total commander and delete the startup link before the device froze, then re-start it.

Hello,
I have a HTC HD2 and I make a ROM upgrade from T-Mobile-Rom 1.48 up to T-Mobile-Rom 1.72 - after the update the device was very slow, so I look in the autostart-folder and find two new links there I never see by my old Rom - I read our post and delete it (pkg.lnk and HTCstartup.lnk) - after this I make a softreset. The device startup without any problem and was very fast... so it work's now very fast and good but I can't say what the two link's do...
Sorry for my bad english...
Bye Mommel

Farmer Ted said:
If you have sk tools, it's got a good startup manager. It will allow you to disable/re-enable items in the startup folder, and will save the shortcuts for you. You definitely need to be careful with startup, though, as you can get into reset loops and boot-ups to frozen devices. You're probably good to go. I don't have a link to pkg.exe in my startup, so it's not something vital. The crucial stuff is all launched in HKLM\init, anyway, I believe.
Once, I just wanted a particular task manager to run at startup, so I put a link in the folder, thinking nothing of it. It caused hell. The device would boot to the today screen, then freeze as the plugins loaded, but not always at the exact same place. After about 10 resets, it got far enough along that I was able to open total commander and delete the startup link before the device froze, then re-start it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
I followed your advice of using SK Tools (an indispensable tool for me with Windows Mobile, together with MemMaid), and I started off on the Windows Mobile the two processes that says: "PKG.lnk" and "HTCstartUP.lnk".
As indicated by "mommel" also in this forum thread, which also had these two processes and eliminated, now the device will boot much faster, and no one notices that nothing goes wrong ... for now. As I have simply disabled, not totally eliminated, thus I will continue trying to run my device.
Thank you for your valuable information. I believe this forum thread is very instructive and I'm glad I initiated if more partners relevant to the forum.
Sincerely,

mommel said:
Hello,
I have a HTC HD2 and I make a ROM upgrade from T-Mobile-Rom 1.48 up to T-Mobile-Rom 1.72 - after the update the device was very slow, so I look in the autostart-folder and find two new links there I never see by my old Rom - I read our post and delete it (pkg.lnk and HTCstartup.lnk) - after this I make a softreset. The device startup without any problem and was very fast... so it work's now very fast and good but I can't say what the two link's do...
Sorry for my bad english...
Bye Mommel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
I followed what you indicate in your message, and using SK Tools (an indispensable tool for me with Windows Mobile, together with MemMaid), I turned off the Windows Mobile Start you indicate the two processes (com also says "Farmer Ted": "PKG.lnk" and "HTCstartUP.lnk".
This amendment also boots faster my HTC Touch Pro (HTC original ROM with WM6.1 Pro), and also seems to go faster running after starting.
The pity is not actually know these two processes that serve simply to increase our knowledge of the Windows Mobile.
Thank you for your information.
Sincerely,

Basically, it's HTC's fault. They're sloppy with the initial boot-up of the device, those links should be deleted after first boot. There's also some stuff you can disable in the HKLM\init queue and in the HKCU\Software\HTC\bootlauncher queue. In the init keys, there's one for autotimeupdate. It doesn't appear to do anything, so you can just delete the key (I think it's 120). I delete the tmail key in bootlauncher (I've never missed having tmail running in the background). If you use a custom sip (other than ezinput), you can delete the 'startkey' reg key, as this just initiates ezinput. I've never missed sipgt_app.exe, so you can delete that piece of crap, too. My boot times are 60-65 seconds (I don't run manila; I use 6.5, but boot-times are faster with 6.1). If you trim the fat, you can speed up re-boots a ton. Just don't delete the keys for core processes-that could end in a hard reset. I recommend doing a full backup before really messing with the registry keys.
Code:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\HTC\BootLauncher\Apps\TMail]
"Module"="\\Windows\\tmail.exe"
"CmdLine"="-RunInBKG"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\HTC\BootLauncher\Apps\SIP_menu]
"Sleep"=dword:0000012c
"Module"="\\Windows\\SIPGT_app.exe"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\HTC\BootLauncher\Apps\Startkey]
"Sleep"=dword:0000012c
"Module"="\\Windows\\startkey.exe"

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4450516&postcount=11