The Se-nse Quickstart Guide!, A newbie's best friend... Options

[WizaJ]

Firstly, moderators may move this to the appropriate section because it doesn't only cover firmware, but a general user's guide to getting around SE-NSE and finding the information you need to make the most out of your Sony Ericsson

DO NOT REPRODUCE ANY OR ALL PART, ANYWHERE OF THIS GUIDE WITHOUT DIRECT PERMISSION FROM ME - WIZAJ.

Thanks go out to diezil, qwerty12 and Mr. Thunderbird. My 3 modding mentors.
steadyontherem8, my fellow n00b helper, a great friend.
Special thanks to the experts on the list at the bottom of this guide for letting me put their names here

So what's this guide about?
Read above, newbie

I wanna mod my phone NOW! So where do I start?
Well, let me break it down for ya....
All SE phones are basically broken down into groups... Since this is a quickstart guide, I'll be defining terms very concisely....
You'll need to find out your phone's Platform, CID, EROM, Colour and Firmware version... for a start

CID is basically the protection system used on your phone, it determines the loaders used to break into it
Current CIDs in use by SE are 29/36/37/49/50/51/52/53
The most common CIDs are 36, 49, 51/52, 53
The most modifications that are available on SE-NSE can be applied to the above mentioned CIDs, apart from 53, which is still under research and development, but there are tools that work with this type of CID

EROM is Erasable Read Only Memory. This is the base part of the software which isn't flashed in normal update operations. It controls the flashing interface, the boot loader, etc.

EROM Colour:This "colour" defines what kind of phone you have.
RED Phones are typical retail phones
BROWN phones are phones used in development and testing
BLUE phones are the units that were assembled at the factory but never programmed with firmware/IMEI/GDFS

PLATFORM is the hardware 'chipset' used in the mobile you own. DB2000, DB2010, DB2020, DB3150 are the most common platforms, and DB2010 to DB3150 are supported by most free tools

FIRMWARE is the 'operating system' of your phone, it is divided into two parts; MAIN Firmware and FS (File System). The FS contains the system files that are required for operation of the phone itself, and the MAIN is the actual operating environment.

Now to find out this info, we'll use the basic SE moddin' tool, which is XS++ (download)
Where to get it?
We use The R&D Supersticky™
It's a topic made by Mr. Thunderbird
This topic contains all the links to all flashing programs and their guides, if applicable. Also, it'll be worth your time to look at A Compilation Of Links Across The Forum. That thread is a useful tool in removing your n00bness.

Download XS++ and Se Tool 2 for a start, most things on this forum are packed in RAR and ZIP files, so you'll need an archiving tool like WinRAR, or the free tool 7Zip. You'll need to install the USB Flash Drivers, read the respective general usage guides for each tool, and then profile your phone with XS++

14:42:01| XS++ v3.1 (Darwin) Ready !
14:42:01| Executed on Microsoft Windows XP
14:42:29|
14:42:29| Attempting to open the interface...
14:42:29|
14:42:29| TURN OFF PHONE!
14:42:29| Hold 'C' button on phone and connect phone NOW.
14:42:29| You have 30 seconds...
14:42:29|
14:42:48| Baseband ID: 8040
14:42:48| Protocol Version: 3.1
14:42:48|
14:42:48| Sending db2010_cid00_prodid_p3l.bin...
14:42:49| Applet ID: 061113 1250 ALUCXC125872_COMPACTPRODUCTION_ID_LOADER P3L
14:42:49| This is a PRODUCTION_ID loader
14:42:49| Activating GDFS...
14:42:49| Phone name detected!
14:42:49|
14:42:49| Profiling SEMC phone...
14:42:49| Platform: DB2010
14:42:49| OTP CID: 49
14:42:49| EROM CID: 49
14:42:49| EROM Color: Red
14:42:49| IMEI: <Your IMEI here>
14:42:49| Phone ID: W700
14:42:49| Region: EMEA_6
14:42:49| CDA: CDA102580/103 R1A
14:42:49| Firmware Version: R1CA021
14:42:49| EROM: n/a
14:42:49| Ready for operation!

Now, from that profile, we can see that my DB2010 W700i is CID 49 (EROM CID is what we pay attention to). It's a RED Retail phone, and it's running R1CA021 firmware

Once you have identified the phone, you'll need to see which modifications you can apply.
If you have a RED CID 36, 49, 52 then XS++ is your best flashing tool, if you have a BROWN 36, you can convert it to 49 through this guide. If you have a BROWN 49, then you'll need a service cable to use this guide

Also, SEFP is another good tool for CID 36 & 49, all of the links can be found in the The R&D Supersticky™

If you have a CID 52/53 and a newer platform, then your other best friend is JDFlasher. Both JDFlasher & SEFP are independent plugins for the FAR Manager application.

The first step to modifying a phone is making a GDFS backup, this is absolutely critical. Please DO NOT SKIP this step, it's covered in the XS++ General Usage guide, and also the Se Tool 2 Lite general usage guide

The second could be flashing the firmware you need. XS++, Se Tool 2, SEFP & JDFlasher can all flash firmware. You may select the appropriate tool according to your profile. The alternative is SEUS (Sony Ericsson Update Service) but it updates the CID on all DB2020s+ to CID 53, rendering the phone less moddable. It is safe for DB2010 and below.

After performing an FS flash, you do need to customise your phone. You do this by using custpacks. They contain languages and other important info. Most custpacks are embedded into XS++, but if you want to know more, or edit one of your own, then I strongly recommend you click here

Flashing and firmware guides are here
Firmware files can be found in here
Most firmware files can also be found here, here, or here
Some of the above website may require the use of Google Translate
You can also do a google search and include the '4shared' term to find firmware.
A sample google query is here
If you're having trouble flashing, you may post your problem here
Only after using this feature of course

Moving on to more advanced modifications, things such as Elfs, Acoustics, Menus, GFX and Camera drivers can all be found here
Be careful when installing those advanced mods and make sure that they're compatible with your phone.

The R&D thread contains works in progress, so you may look into them if you feel you are comfortable using items that are still yet to be finalized, but remember to read this first. You can also learn a lot from that thread.

Mods... Explained

Is it dangerous?
Using modded drivers does shorten the hardware's life span, but not by a significant difference. This is because almost all modded drivers are very high performance and push the hardware to the limit. Hence more wear & tear

Acoustics
These are the sound drivers for your phone, they control the parameters such as volume, clarity and noise reduction. There are many available 3rd party acoustics on SE-NSE. Please note that DB2010s use APF acoustics, DB2020s use ZAPF acoustics, and believe it or not, DB3150s use WBXML acoustics. Acoustics are not firmware/model dependent but are platform dependent

Camera & Display Drivers
These are a bit self explanatory, but they basically control clarity and speed parameters. Camera drivers are model dependent. Display drivers however, may work on other models, and this behaviour has also been noticed on some camera drivers.

Patches
Patches allow for some extreme changes in how the phone works. They can change the UI, and security restrictions and a lot more things. Patches work by changing values in the firmware, though they are some patches that do write values outside of firmware, and these are the dangerous ones. Some CAN write to EROM but it's usually mentioned in the patch. This is why it is recommended to unpatch all your patches before flashing a new MAIN. Patches are firmware and model dependent. Strictly. Misused patches have been known to completely destroy a MAIN.

Elfpack/Elfs
These are small executables that use the phone's ARM processor. They can access many native functions of the
phone that allow for some unique applications that cannot be developed on any other phone. You will need the Elfpack and Elf Library patch for your specific phone and firmware, although the Elfs themselves are not dependent on anything, i.e, any Elf will run on any phone that has Elfpack and the necessary library functions. If you experience problems running Elfs, it means that your library does not have the necessary function(s) used by that Elf. Different libraries are released for different phones, usually dependent on the maker of the elf, who attaches the function you need in the form of a VKP patch alongside the elf for your convinience. Having Elfpack installed means that your SE can get viruses. Only use trusted Elfs that are verified by many users.

GFX/SysGFX
sysgfx is a patch that allows you to change the GUI of your phone using images to replace elements in your UI. GFX are the actual images that you upload to your GFX directory. On most DB2020s, images are converted to patches, you cannot have sysgfx the same way as on DB2010.

Still having trouble?
Contact one of our experts below

WizaJDB2010/20 Firmware specialist, APF/ZAPF/WBXML Acoustic expert, Elf expert, Patch expert. ACEEL Co-founder
steadyontherem8-DB2010/20 Expert, Firmware finding guru, K800/10 Owner.
nknwn666-DB2010 Expert, K800/10 Expert, K750@W800 Owner
Mr. Thunderbird-Phone moddin' god, UIQ Expert, W960 + W595 Expert.
thugz mafia-DB2010 Expert, W700 Expert, Elf Installation & Usage Expert, hex based patch porter. W700 Owner
Wally_dog-Knows all there is to know about the W810, W810 Owner
Mattwood-Phone Repairs Expert (Some Nokia & Motorola too). 3 Yrs Experience
weirdwilli-Pretty much useless, but hey, it's worth a shot
nick14-Smartphone Expert.
number1-DB2010/20 Expert. K810 Expert, K800@K810, W300i Owner. C702 Owner & Expert
KrX-W580 Owner & Expert. Can help with most DB2020 problems

DB3150 Quickstart coming soon.

This post has been edited by WizaJ: 2009-01-30 16:14

[Snowiffic]

Pinned!

[Ly]

This is great Wiza

[ThilinaC]

this is really a gr8 idea....well done bro

[weirdwilli]

finally finished huh! Nice work Wiza!

EDIT: Maybe you could add links to where to get XS and Setool 2 and whatnot

This post has been edited by weirdwilli: 2008-05-28 13:10

[WizaJ]

Thank you Iouri, Lynott, Thilina and Will
I have added the link Will

[steadyontherem8]

Nice guide, I say again and I'm 2nd on the list

Me, on 2nd on the list? I'm not that experienced

[nknwn666]

nice...keep up the good work wizaJ

[WizaJ]

Thanks steady, and nknwn, and thanks for allowing me to add your names to the expert list
btw, if anyone feels they know a particular phone or platform etc very well, and are willing to take noob PMs, they can send me a PM and I'll add them to the list

[thugz mafia]

awsome!! must've taken u quite a while to do all this!! and this is exactly what we need for the daily n00b

[Snowiffic]

Lol, so now Im not an expert anymore? Fine! Just wait till post 5000!

[WizaJ]

It took me about an hour
@Iouri
You are no mere expert

[Snowiffic]

Alright man, your list, you decide who's who.

[WizaJ]

Somethings up with the status indicator thingies though, I think I messed something up

[weirdwilli]

OOO! Can i be an expert!

[thugz mafia]

ah thanks fer the honour lol!! but im no patch porting guru!! i can only do simple patches with winhex!! can i be an elf or elf installation specialist instead??

This post has been edited by thugz mafia: 2008-05-30 11:02

[Nick14]

i got a k810 which is blue what should i do ????

[WizaJ]

Yes Will, you can PM me the missing details I should add though
I have corrected it thugz
Well Nick, PM your areas of expertise then =)

[number1]

Can i join your expects list, i know pretty much most phones db2010 & db2020.

[WizaJ]

Thank you number1