ClearChoice IT Services Knowledge Base

INTRODUCTION:
So you're tired of slow & buggy "official" ROM currently on your Treo & want to try something different!?  Read on for an easy tutorial on how to do it.

PREPARATION:
It's best to perform this entire procedure from a Windows XP machine.  Although it's possible to use WMDC on Vista, it's not recommended at all.

To complete this custom ROM load, ensure your XP machine already has .NET Framework 2.0 (link) and ActiveSync 4.5 (link) installed.

PRACTICE ENTERING BOOTLOADER:
Before re-flashing your ROM, it's best to become familiar entering/exiting the bootloader if you're not already.  It's good to know what "normal" is in this possibly strange world of your phone before going off & changing it.

To enter the bootloader, simply:

• Press and hold the left side button (media player button).
• Soft-reset the device by pressing the red reset button with your stylus.  The reset button is located near the mini-SD slot under the plastic cap on the right side of your Treo.

NOTE:  This process is different than a hard reset procedure, which you do by holding the red power button while pressing the red reset button.

Inside the bootloader, you'll see 5 colored horizontal bands.  The top two lines tell you your IPL version & the next two lines tell you the SPL version.  The line at the bottom tells you the current connection type (i.e. "Serial").  NOTE:  The "SPL" is what we need to update before we can flash a cooked ROM.

To get out of the bootloader, simply press the red reset button again.  Your device should reboot back into the OS with no loss of data!

INSTALL ALTERNATIVE BOOTLOADER:
Install Hard-SPL bootloader on your Treo (I need details here!)

INSTALL COOKED OS ROM:
Name the cooked ROM file "CHEEIMG.nbh" (case-sensitive) & put in root of FAT32-formatted mini SD. (Card can have other files on it, but it must be formatted FAT32 from an XP machine (NOT Vista).

INSTALL NEW RADIO ROM (OPTIONAL):
It is not necessary to install a new version of your Treo's radio ROM, nor do I currently know the advantages of doing such (because I haven't done it yet!).  Note:  Once you flash your radio up to version 1.54 (?), it is said that you cannot ever go back!  This is why I've yet to do this.

If you so dare, though, simply rename the radio ROM to "CHEEIMG.nbh" (case-sensitive), copy it to the root of your mini-SD card & enter the bootloader to begin the update process.  In general, it's the exact same process as flashing the OS ROM.