How to: Flash a HTC Touch HD to Windows Mobile 6.5

First things first - the software and general methods weren't created by me - I take no credit for them. However there are a few "gotchas" that really get in the way if you don't look out for them. Now onto business.

I'm building this post as if you own a HTC Touch HD T8282 Mobile Phone also known as a Blackstone. The Touch HD PocketPC by HTC is a touchscreen smartphone which runs the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system. The steps are the same for other HTC mobile phones but involved different versions of the software (explained in each step).

Flashing the phones requires a few things:

1. A boot loader - All htc phones have a boot loader that kicks in before loading the operating system. Think of it like a BIOS. Now mobile phone carriers would want you to believe that you cannot flash the boot loader but that is total BS. Typical boot loaders are a meg more or less.
2. A rom - This the OS of the phone (Such as Windows Mobile 6.5) and bundled applications (Like adobe reader, microsoft office mobile, etc...) in one file. They are usually .nbh file format and 100-160 megs is typical.
3. The magic CustomRRU software - this is the software that actually does the flashing for the rom and boot loader (one at a time). It's simply called CustomRUU.exe and you need it. How to use it will come later.

How to find these files / Which ones do I get?

Step 0 is to understand that every HTC model is different. What boot loader works on the HTC Touch HD probably won't work on a HTC Touch Pro 2. Also the roms will be completely different. The software used however is generally called by the same name, so when you look for software for your HTC, you need to browse to the right section of the website listed below for your phone.

Step 1 Visit this website - http://forum.xda-developers.com/

Get yourself a free account and then browse for your phone. They are listed by their project name not model name, so a HTC Touch HD is actually listed as Blackstone. Each phone has several forums, the Roms development forum is the one you'll want.

Step 2 - Download

Three steps here:

2.1 Download a rom

There's plenty of roms for most phones and it just depends on what you want the OS to be and do. Looking for just Windows Mobile 6.5? Then grab a Miri WM 6.5 rom. There are also ones that maximize battery life or speed. There's roms with a cut-down number of extra applications (bloatware) and other that overload extra apps. Its just about getting the one that suits you best.

One thing to note is if the developer states what type of boot loader you need. Boot loaders are covered in the next step.

2.2 Get a bootloader

Any new rom will require a new bootloader first. This is because the standard bootloader on most HTCs will not let you flash with a customized rom. There are a number of ways you can get a new bootloader onto your phone and they are all confusing. At time of writing there are two bootloaders that are important for the Blackstone - "Hard SPL 1.54" and "Hard SPL 1.56". 1.54 is used for older roms and 1.56 is generally used for newer ones. It pays to check the rom's info so that you get the right bootloader.

The other type of SPL is the USPL. USPL launches a bootloader from the internal flash memory instead of the boot rom, meaning that after you reset your phone it is gone. It is mainly used when testing boot loaders, but usually have no place in a full flash.

2.3 Download CustomRRU

This is an easy step. You'll find the program here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=435110 (once again for the Blackstone). Basically it's a modified version of the origional software that updates the HTC phones execpt it usually has steps 28, 29, 30 and 31 skipped in the flash process. This is an attempt to stop the phone from wiping all data after a flash.

Step 3 Prepare for flashing

Flashing a phone is a dangerous step - if it goes wrong your phone can wind up dead with potentially no warrenty. So take a minute to maximise the chance of success by:

• - Download and install Window Mobile Device Center 6.1 (at time of writing, for Vista and Windows 7)
• - Have a USB cable ready
• - Charge your phone to at least 50% battery power
• - All the software in an easy to get to location
• - Internet available on the machine you are working on
• - Backup files that are on your phone
• - Remove your SIM and Flash Cards to prevent the flash update process wiping them

When this is all done your ready to go.

Step 4 Disable anti-flashing mechanisms

Do this by

• - Turning off your Anti-Virus.
• - Disable Driver Signing Enforcement

For x64 Vista/Win7 you will need to restart, press F8 to get the windows boot menu and select "Disable Device Driver Enforcement" from the menu.

Step 5 Restart your phone into the boot loader.

Flashing a HTC phone occurs when the phone is in the boot loader mode. You can turn the phone off by pulling the battery out from the back of the HTC phone, give it five seconds and put it back in. Then hold down the "Volume Down" key on the phone and press the "Power" button. You should get a Red-Green-Blue-White screen. It will have your current SPL version at the top of the screen (i.e. like SPL-1.54.000 in my flashed phone). At the bottom of the screen should be "Serial", meaning that the phone is looking for a serial connection.

Step 6 Get your phone connected

Connect your phone to your computer with the USB cable. On the PC it should eventually install a usb driver and on the phone the "Serial" should change to "USB". When that happens you know your in buisness. From this point on, do not remove the usb cable at either end.

Step 7 Flash a new bootloader onto your HTC

Extract the CustomRUU.exe if it is in a zip file and place the boot loader's .nbh file in the same directory. Then run CustomRUU.exe. Follow the prompts (checking the tick boxes) and it will eventually come up with a screen that has your current phone version and the version that you are going to flash too. Do not fret if it lists nothing as your current phone version - it is normal. Continue all the "next" buttons until it start flashing the phone.

A progress bar will show on the screen and shortly after on the phone as well. When it gets to 100%, the phone will reboot and you will have a new bootloader installed. Usually most phones boot back to your origional rom that is still installed. Pull the battery and put it back in, hold the volume down button and the on button to get back to the boot screen (red, green blue and white lines).

Look at SPL version. If it's the same number as the one you downloaded, you know its worked.

Step 8 Flash the new rom.

Next up grab the rom (the .nbh 100-160meg file that you downloaded in step 2.1). Once again this needs to be in the same directory as CustomRUU.exe.

Launch CustomRUU.exe again once your phone is connected to your pc in the bootloader mode, and you get the "USB" text in the white space on your phone. Run through the same "next next next" again however this time it will take a fair amount of time longer (normally a few minutes).

Once its done it will boot into Windows Mobile first time boot mode, which basically sets up the phone. Then it normally it reboots and tells you there is no SIM in the phone. Put your SIM and any flash cards back in and away you go.

Typical Problems -

Green Windows loading screen / menus.

This indicates that the wrong boot loader is in use. You need to follow the steps for flashing your boot loader as above however choosing a different boot loader version.

Final Thoughts:

I was using my UK HTC Touch HD phone which had the stock Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 installed. Its now running the Windows Mobile 6.5 - XANNYTECH GRID LEO 2.7b rom which is great, mostly praised as the best bug free rom.

To cut this tutorial short:

I had made sure I had the latest Microsoft . NET 3.5 Framework available from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=333325FD-AE52-4E35-B531-508D977D32A6&displaylang=en

1. HARDSPL Bootloader 1.56 (this is what you first install, to be able to install the below windows mobile 6.5 rom) - get it here : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=505377
2. XannyTechROM GRID LEO 1.7 M2.5 (this is the cooked ROM you will install)- get it directly here: http://rapidshare.com/files/292493262/XTROM_GRIDLEO_1_7b.rar
3. Check for latest versions and different variations of this rom here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=565290 there is also many other versions of this rom on this forum.
4. I then first ran the boot loader from the PC in its own folder whilst connected to the phone via USB cable, left it to complete, checked my phone after to see if the SPL had changed from 1.54 to 1.56.
5. I then reset my phone by taking out the battery.
6. I then extracted the rom+exe from the rapidshare link and ran the custom loader in its own folder and again followed the instructions, left it to complete installing, and once again rebooted my phone.
7. Bingo all done! I was very impressed with the above rom, the predictive text is much better now amongst other interface improvements.
   
   Remember to hardreset your device after flashing!