Newbie planning on flashing Vodaphone VPA Compact

[marsonist]

I have just recently ordered the German Vodaphone version of the i-mate jam and should be recieving it within the next few days. I have been eyeing this forum for ways to flash it from German to English. I've seen a number of different threads, some quite long, and it seems as though the procedure for flashing has changed a bit over the months.

I'm a bit lost, so I'll write what I think I understand, and hopefully someone will come along and correct me before I make a brick out of my new baby :(

It appears that there are 3 sections to the firmware. The ROM the Extended ROM and the Radio firmware.

-I believe that the VPA comes with Radio firmware version 1.11 which I understand is the latest. That is language independent and can be left untouched.

-The ROM is the actual OS. I need to download an English ROM and MaUpgradeUt_noID, and follow this procedure http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=19504

-The Extended ROM confuses me the most. I am guessing that this is where the vendor specific software is loaded (vodaphone *this*, vodaphone *that*, anything else that is not standard with WM 2003 SE) Is this correct?

If I flash the main ROM, does the Extended ROM stay intact? Do I loose any functionality? Are there any common pitfalls or any things to keep in mind as I try to do this? What's a worst case scenario?

If searched the forums but I've never found all of this stuff in an updated form all in one place. I'm thrilled to be receiving my first windows mobile phone and would hate to end up with a brick on the first day :roll:

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, info, or corrections to come my way.

Steve

[Nutdhanai]

It appears that there are 3 sections to the firmware. The ROM the Extended ROM and the Radio firmware.

Yes you’re correct



-The ROM is the actual OS. I need to download an English ROM and MaUpgradeUt_noID, and follow this procedure http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=19504


Yes I think you’re also correct here


-The Extended ROM confuses me the most. I am guessing that this is where the vendor specific software is loaded (vodaphone *this*, vodaphone *that*, anything else that is not standard with WM 2003 SE) Is this correct?


Yes you’re correct


If I flash the main ROM, does the Extended ROM stay intact? Do I loose any functionality? Are there any common pitfalls or any things to keep in mind as I try to do this? What's a worst case scenario?


If you flash only the main ROM (OS) yes your extended rom will stay intact.

From my understanding, if you flash the OS ROM that is the same version as your Extended ROM then you should have minimal problems. Eg. You have GER OS ROM v1.11 and Extended ROM v1.11 and you flash ENG OS ROM v1.11 – this should be ok because the extended rom has the updated patches for the OS ROM v1.11

But you may have software problems if eg.You have GER OS ROM v1.06 and Extended ROM v1.06 and you flash ENG OS ROM v1.11 – this is because the patches in the extended rom are not updated for the OS ROM v1.11

Therefore, if you want to mix and match, I think you just need to check that your Extended Rom version is the same as your OS ROM version then you should be ok.

I would recommend to backup your extended rom before doing anything, just incase you need the patches. Use Loadvdisk.exe to unhide your extended rom folder (located in root -\) then use activesync or fileexplorer to copy them to SD card or something.

Hope this helps.