Upgrading the ROM - Bootloader/SD Card Method

[sheran_g]

Updating your Qtek ROM using the 'SD Card' or 'Bootloader' Method

Forenote:
Even though I have centered these instructions to refer to the Qtek 1010 specifically, please note that they can also be applied to the following devices: O2 XDA / HTC Spaceneedle / PW10 / PW20 / Siemens SX56 / T-Mobile MDA

How do I update my ROM with an SD Card?

This is a question I see so often on the XDA-Developers Forum and I will try to present as detailed instructions as I can.
But first:

Flashing your Qtek is VERY VERY dangerous. I have already lost one Qtek by accidentally flashing it incorrectly. Please remember this. I will not be held responsible for anyone's trashed Qtek.
Ok.

Having said this, lets get on with the upgrade:

Requirements:

A Qtek with at least a 70% Charge on the Battery
A PC/Laptop with a USB Port running Windows NT, 2000 or XP*
An empty SD/MMC Card of at least 64Mb
An SD/MMC Card Reader
The XDA Developers' XDA ROM Image Tool (XDArit)

* The XDA ROM Image Tool will only work on Windows NT, 2000 or XP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Step 1 - Always Backup your Data

Always have a backup when you play around with your Qtek in this manner. If you have a backup it saves you so much grief. A VERY important point to remember: Similar to your Operating Systems (Windows, Linux, BSD, etc.) the Qtek has what is known as a Boot Loader. This is a location in the Qtek's ROM (Memory) which is first invoked every time the device is reset. This collection of 'instructions' will load the actual Operating System (Pocket PC 2002, Windows Mobile 2003 PE) and actually start up the Qtek where you see your pretty little 'Today' screen and will enable you to run all your programs. Read this next line VERY CAREFULLY:

If your Boot Loader gets trashed for any reason, YOU WILL HAVE A DEAD QTEK. THERE WILL BE NO EASY WAY TO RESTORE YOUR QTEK TO A WORKING DEVICE. IN ESSENCE, YOU WILL END UP WITH A $500 PAPER WEIGHT. I will NOT be touching on any points which involve modifications to the Boot Loader.

Let's first find out how to enter the Boot Loader:
You enter the Boot Loader by performing a Soft Reset while holding down the Power button. You should see a screen similar to this:

http://ww2.zensay.com:81/qtek/images/left-mini-DSC00084.JPG

If you have Boot Loader Version 5.17 or higher, then please stop reading now because I will only cover Boot Loaders 5.14 & 5.15.

The technique for upgrading with a Bootloader higher that 5.15 is given on the XDA-Developers site. You can find it here. (http://xda-developers.com/XDArit/)

Next, press the Button which usually brings up your Contacts. You should then see the following screen:

http://ww2.zensay.com:81/qtek/images/left-mini-DSC00085.JPG

Select the option ' CE ROM TO SD' and press the Action button. YOUR SD CARD WILL BE OVERWRITTEN COMPLETELY AT THIS POINT. Don't have any data on it. You should see this:

http://ww2.zensay.com:81/qtek/images/left-mini-DSC00088.JPG

The above process should take a few minutes. At least more than five.

Let me explain what we have just done. We have entered the Boot Loader and asked it to Dump the entire OS ROM to our SD Card. It WILL NOT back up your settings or third-party applications. It merely dumps the entire OS to the Card. This is the backup we will use should, God forbid, something goes horribly wrong.

After the ROM is dumped to the SD Card, you will see this screen:

http://ww2.zensay.com:81/qtek/images/left-mini-DSC00089.JPG


Pressing the Action button at this point of time will reset the device and it should start up as normal.

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Step 2 - Copy your old ROM onto your Hard Disk
Now that you have got a copy of your old ROM on the SD Card, we can now move it to someplace safer on your hard disk. You will use the XDA Developers' XDArit tool for this purpose. The instructions follow.

Remove the SD Card from the Qtek, put it in the Card Reader connected to your PC and start up XDArit.

http://ww2.zensay.com:81/qtek/images/xdarit1.JPG

Choose 'Read from SD Card' and name your backup ROM:

http://ww2.zensay.com:81/qtek/images/xdarit2.JPG

Press OK and the ROM will be copied from the SD Card to your Hard Disk as you specified.

Great! You now have a backup of your old ROM. We will now continue to write the new ROM onto the SD Card using XDArit.

From the main XDArit screen, choose 'Write to SD card'. Here is what should be visible:

http://ww2.zensay.com:81/qtek/images/xdarit3.JPG

Under the 'Windows CE' field, select the Browse button and choose your new ROM to be written onto the SD Card.

Notice that even though the 'Bootloader' field is filled out automatically, it is not ticked. LEAVE IT THE WAY IT IS! This is where so many people go wrong and completely trash their Qtek's. For added safety, I make sure to delete the contents of the field, just in case.

Click 'OK' and wait while the SD Card is written. Ensure that you see a 'Successfully written xxxxx blocks' message from XDArit (which I have not been able to screen capture). This will probably save you from writing something corrupted onto your Qtek.

Right! Now you've got your new ROM all setup on your SD Card. All that's left is to flash it to the Qtek. On to step 3

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Step 3 - Writing the new ROM onto your Qtek

So you've got the ROM on your SD Card. What next? Read on:

Insert your SD Card into your Qtek and reset to enter your Bootloader. When you do this, the Bootloader will automatically detect that you have a CE ROM in your SD Card and will ask you to press the Action button to flash the Qtek with this ROM. Press the Action button and wait for the flashing process to complete:

http://ww2.zensay.com:81/qtek/images/left-mini-DSC00092.JPG


Once the flashing has completed, (after 6-7 minutes) you should be prompted to perform a Cold Boot or a Hard Reset:

http://ww2.zensay.com:81/qtek/images/left-mini-DSC00094.JPG

Congratulations! You've just flashed your Qtek ROM using the 'SD Card' or 'Bootloader' method. Enjoy your new ROM.

Get the HTML version here (http://www.zensay.com/qtek/ceupgrade.html)

[othman]

Dear sheran_g

this will help lots of users who wants to have a look to the new version of Microsoft Mobile 2003 OS.

some people who doesn't have SD or MMC card migth need to wait for somebody like Mr. Jeff who did the xda-developers ROM exe file or wait for the official release which won't be free as confirmed by Carrier Devices the main distributors of Qtek

i have seen a post on another forum and here's what it says

Microsoft Mobile 2003 represents several major feature enhancements to
Pocket PC 2002, especially in the connectivity and mobility aspects
where the Qtek 1010 is very strong. As Microsoft has just released the
new upgrade there will be a short delay for us to finalise the other
elements we need to add to the operating system in order to complete our
devices. We will be providing an upgrade at an additional cost once our
integration is complete and we have checked the compatibility of
existing applications with Microsoft Mobile 2003.

thanks again sheran_g for the great job.

Othman :)
http://www.pocketpc4arab.com

[smaslift]

HI Sheran,

Thanks for the great instructions. I am not computer literate and intend to use Jeff's exe to upgrade my 3.16.32 ENG rom to the SER ver 1.2 which is available for use. I intend to back up my rom just in case things go wrong as you have so vividly described. So do I do the same steps as you outlined in backing up my old rom to my sd card? If things go wrong, do I simply insert my sd card with the backed up rom and reboot with the soft reset and my xda would then automatically recognised the old rom and ask for flashing? What is the action button you mentioned in your description?

Sorry for being a complete idiot and hope you could kindly provide the much needed valuable tips.

Cheers

Vic

[sheran_g]

Hi there,

Yes, you can restore your old ROM if you back it up through the Bootloader onto your SD Card. If you have the SD Card with the old ROM and reset your XDA into the Bootloader, it will ask you if you want to flash. Press the Action button at this point. (Step 3 of the Procedure)

The Action button is your navigation button. Push down on it whenever it says 'Press the Action button'

[smaslift]

Hi Sheran,

Thanks for quick answer. Will do that as told.

One question though- will all the programs I have including things like contacts etc be erased if I flash my rom with the SER ver 1.2? I suppose this will happen since I need to hard boot the set once the rom is flashed?

Cheers

Vic

[sheran_g]

Yes. All of it will go. The SD Backup only covers the OS and not your settings, apps, contacts, etc.

[smaslift]

Hi Sheran,

Thanks for info.

Guess I have to sync in all appts and contacts first prior to flashing rom. There is a SD backup program in my program list; wonder if this is useful to back up the programs?

Cheers

Vic

[sheran_g]

The SD Backup utility will back everything up onto your SD Card. I can't say that I've tried it, but I use Pocket Backup from Sprite Software. It's got some really great features including a Self Extracting backup file. One click and all your data is restored!

[barshad]

I want to downgrade my WME2003 to 2002, but i've 5.17 bootload
is it possible ?

TIA

[sheran_g]

I want to downgrade my WME2003 to 2002, but i've 5.17 bootload
is it possible ?

TIA
Take a look at this link: http://www.xda-developers.com/bootloader/

Look at the part which concerns the 5.17 bootloader. After you patch it, you should be able to follow my instructions as normal.

HTH

[VHS]

Hi Sheran_g
My Wallaby Bootloader is v. 5.17
Can you tell me how to flash it by detail?
Thank?

[sheran_g]

Hi Sheran_g
My Wallaby Bootloader is v. 5.17
Can you tell me how to flash it by detail?
Thank?
Hello VHS,
I'd really advise you to read the link on the xda-developers site concerning the 5.17 bootloader. I do not have any detailed info about flashing with the 5.17 bootloader at this time. I will share as soon as I put some documents together.

Check this link (http://www.xda-developers.com/XDArit/) out. Look up the section entitled "Dealing with 5.17 bootloaders"

[rats]

Hi Sheran,
I have one question about updating the rom using bootloader method.
Step "Flashing from SD card":On your site it is written not to tick "Bootloader" field by writing to SD card.
But on the xda-developers site it is ticked.
Cab you pls.explain the step "write to SD card".
What should I write excactly on the"write to SD card" screen.
Thanks.
brgds
rats
PS:On the xda-developers site it is written to enter the file names:
Bootloader: C:\test\5-15.nb0
Windows CE: C:\test\3.14.17-O2Asia.nb1
Should I write this fieldnames or the names on your site?

[einas_canada]

Hello folks and many thanks for the information.
I am trying to copy a ROm from a friend's XDA and we both have the 5.15 bootloader. I have tried your method where I have a SD card but not a card reader. Pressing the Power button and doing a soft reset tokk me to the bootloader page and pressing the "contacts" button allowed me to writ the CE Rom to the SD card :P
Now, I am unable to write this to my device :(
I have inserted the SD card into my device and have done a soft reset, nothing happened, Indeed, I was asked if I want to format the SD card to make it useable!
I have pressed the power button and done a soft reset, took me to the bootloader start page but then nothing happened :cry:
What am I supposed to do to get the already written ROm (on my SD card) to my unit?

Thanks in advance

[sheran_g]

Did you go ahead and format the SD Card? If so, you will have to dump your friend's ROM back again onto the SD Card and repeat the process.

[Qman]

Now, I am unable to write this to my device :(
I have inserted the SD card into my device and have done a soft reset, nothing happened, Indeed, I was asked if I want to format the SD card to make it useable!

Its sounds like you only have the CE ROM hence nothings happening.
To do what you're trying to do you need the CE+Boot.

[einas_canada]

Have tried this and now it copied it. However it the end, the message I get says :check sum is incorrect and I am unable to boot my device :cry:
Any ideas? PLEASE!

[valheru]

Seems like you overwrote your bootloader. Not sure why you did this. You only needed to write the OS to ROM. Not good news but it seems as though you have a pretty cool paperweight now.

Qman, your post meantioned writing both CE and Boot, why was this? Thought only the CE needed to be written according to above instructions and other websites.

[Qman]

The CE+Boot makes your SD bootable without it you're unable to boot from the SD. Since he didn't have a PC SD reader that was the best way to upgrade his OS besides going the .exe route. I have used this method more than once without incident.

As far as only needing CE this is in regards to using XDARit to write to PC and back to SD since the bootloader is added automatically writing to SD.

It appears now that XDARit maybe his only option to correct the incorrect check sum and in getting is XDA back online.

[valheru]

Hi Qman, thanks for the info. I'm just trying to get a good grip on this whole process and was unsure as to your comments. They are appreciated.

[Qman]

Understood but you did get me to thinking though!
This ROM upgrading business sure is Tricky & Dangerous!

[raycarroll70]

Does anyone have the T Mobile USA Pocket PC Phone Edition's ROM available to e mail me? I flashed my ROM with the XDA Special 1.2 Version and now I have no GSM signal even when I select T Mobile USA for autoselect. I think I may also need the Radio Stack and GSM files too. I would appreciate any help you can offer.

[salbiani]

Have you tried just downloading it from T-Mobile yet? I can't remember if you can just do a straight downgrade or if you have to use adaptrom.exe first.
Has anyone else tried this yet?

I didnt think that that the Special Edition Rom changed your Radio Stack. What radio version does your device information say you have?

[andygee]

I have successfully backed up my rom to sd and used the xda rom image tool to pull the backup off the sd card. Now when I go to write an image to the sd card the image tool tells me that the sd card is not a removable disk and will probably erase a hard drive. I have verified that it is the sd card that's its trying to write to but it comes back and tells me unable to write to disk. Any ideas? The sd card is formatted and windows will let me see it.

[itsme]

xdarit 1.03 ( or is it 2 ? ) has some serious bugs, don't use it. it is very confused about what drives it uses. expect a completely redone version soon.

[andygee]

xdarit 1.03 ( or is it 2 ? ) has some serious bugs, don't use it. it is very confused about what drives it uses. expect a completely redone version soon.

It's 1.02 I believe. Downloaded it from your site just a few days ago.

[wbalzer]

XDARit seems to work OK when the HARD Drives have single visable partitions. If you have multiple physical drives with single partitions, would probably work ok as well. (Not Sure). I think it gets messed up with the Logical Drives. I think this is how my system looks at my drives when I have 4 logical drives on my Main Drive and 2 logical Drives on my Firewire.

Physical Logical
------------- ---------
HardDisk 0 = 0 1 2 3
HardDisk 1 = 4 5
CD 2 = 6
MemStick 3 = 7
SD 4 = 8

My SD is the physical Device 4. When I used XDARit it killed my Logical Device 4 which was my Firewire. This is what appears to have happened. The programmer who wrote XDARit might be able to give more (better) insight to the problem.

Putting XDRit on a different system that only had a C drive and 2 CDRoms worked flawlessly.

Wade

[Startup]

Some info for everyone:
I cracked my LCD recently on my T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition and was looking around for a parts supplier...having no luck I called T-Mobile to order the part....instead of offering me the part, they said I can swap my Pocket PC for a brand new one for $70! That had to be cheaper than an LCD to I opted for it. They give you a postage paid box to return the old one and it has to be returned within 7 days but hey $70 vs. $500! If you truly get hosed...this is an option (you may have to crack your LCD :lol: ).

Startup.