n00b questions

[anystupidname]

Hi,

I just got a Titan with Sprint and have tons of stupid questions. Is there a category in here where people won't mind me asking my questions? I'm new to mobile in particular, mobile windows, mobile devices but not new to windows and linux in general on desktop. So I have questions about imaging my device, cooking my own roms (for instance I've gotten my grubby little hands on the 3.16 GPS/EVDO revA test rom), recovering from disaster, etc before I start messing with and bricking my device. I want to make sure I can recovery after installing Google's android for example as I'm sure I'll probably kill it many times trying.

Thanks,
Chris

[Rudegar]

when i got here pre getting a wallaby i never even used a pocketpc before
was here for a long while before getting one
general pc knowlage and mainly pc knowlage
made it possible for me to help others who had pda's
before i got one myself
well that and reading other peoples posts

[flykthewiz]

in general people dont mind any questions - no matter how "stupid" as long as you have taken the time and effort to search first.

There are many guides already posted on how to cook roms. This is not a simple task so take things one step at a time.

[anystupidname]

OK, thanks for clarifying. I guess I have two main generic questions to start.

Before I get started, what is the best way to create a complete backup image of my current setup? I've tried to find this out but I keep only seeing things about sprite backup and/or active sync but I suspect I need something else. I recall something about scraping a rom off your device but they didn't go into details. Plus I'm not very clear about the boot loader. Do I need to modify the boot loader and if I do will that screw up my chances of trying other things like Google's Android linux or other cooked windows mobile roms?

Lets assume I can figure out how to use a rom kitchen or whatever other tools I'll need to customize a rom to my liking, I get the feeling I shouldn't just dive in and start modifying things "willynilly" as things will go badly. What do I need to be careful about modifying and what can go wrong? I've only briefly glanced over some rom cooking threads as I wasn't sure where to start and if the instructions are extremely device-model-"centric" or not.

I'm happy to read or follow howtos if I just get links. I don't expect anybody to walk me through stuff.

Thanks,
Chris

[Rudegar]

generaly the "stuff" is devided into 2 cats
the stuff you put om it
and the rom itself

if you have the rom file you got on the pda or download the rom version you got the 2th
the rom on your device is not enuiqe and is just the same as any other rom of the same version from the same provider in case you got a custom rom from a phoneoperator like orange or o2 or.....

first one is pretty much what activesync sync and a new phone or a phone with a new rom can get access to the same stuff when synced to the pc apart from the programs later installed though same goes for a pda upgraded to a later rom and later downgraded to an earlier rom

speritebackup and such backup programs does what activesync does plus auto reinstall programs manualy installed lated on