Saturday, October 4, 2008

Change HelloMoto Bootscreen for L9


Needed Programs:

  1. Flash & Backup 3
  2. MotoBootScreenReplacer

The bootscreen is contained in CG8.

TAKE A BACKUP OF CG8, THEN SAVE FOR EDITING AND SAVE FOR BACKUP

You can either use your own CG8.smg or the one provided.

Open MotoBootScreenReplacer and choose your CG8.smg you will be using, and then choose firmware selection.

1. Click Load from File then choose your 176 x 220 image you would like to be your bootscreen. Click Save As....

2. Save as a different CG8.smg or same CG8.smg



3. Open your first CG8.shx with Flash&Backup



4. Click the CG8, then click the Replace button.

5. Replace the older CG8.smg with the newest CG8.smg.

6. Save as a different .SHX

7. FLASH IT!!!!

Flashing/Flexing MOTO SLVR L9

This guide will teach you how to flash/flex your phone using Flash & Backup 3.

Things you will need:
Flash & Backup 3
SHX file to flash

Note: flashing Moto SLVR L9 is similar to flashing Moto Rizr ... only difference is changing the profile as L9 instead of Rizr

Before flashing ANYTHING, you should ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS make a backup of your stock files. This way, you are able to revive your phone if you brick it. A full backup can be acheived by using a REGISTERED version of Flash & Backup 3. In order to register it, you must visit http://www.motorola-tools.com/index.php and purchase your copy of FB3.

Once you have all the files that you need, power on your phone in Bootloader mode. (# and * while pressing power)

Open Flash & Backup 3.
















1. Make sure your Active phone profile is Motorola L9/L72
2. Also make sure you are on the Write Data screen
3. Once the first two are confirmed, choose Select File.

Navigate to where you saved the SHX file to be flashed. In my case, I saved mine to the desktop so I could easily find it later.
















Once you select it, you will have a screen like the one below. If you're flashing a drm, there will only be one thing in the red box that I've made. Now select Write Data from the bottom right corner.
















Flash & Backup will begin the flashing process. You will get a screen like this one while it's flashing. Depending on the size of the file you're using, this screen may stay longer.














Once you're done, Flash & Backup 3 will say "Operation Done" and you will be able to close the little window.













Now for me, when it's done flashing, my phone just shuts off. Yours may restart or just shut off like mine does. Just turn it back on and you should be ok.

SKINNING L9

Installing Skins On You L9

This guide will teach you how to install skins onto your L9 . If you have done this before on other phones, then read no further, because its the same, as long as you have the newest version of Skiman.

Skins for the RIZR Z3 are the same as those for the L9. So that

If you have never installed skins before, here is what you?ll need:

SKINMAN VERSION 0.47(Older versions will not work)


Once you have downloaded the skin you would like and the Skiman program, unzip both of them, and then open Skiman.












It will automatically proceed to read the skins already on your phone.

Once it says Ready in the bottom left corner, you are ready to begin.

Click Install.




















You will then get a screen that looks like this. For a regular skin, just click Open here.
















Navigate to where you saved your skin. In most situations, there will be a file that will have an icon like the one shown here, or a yellow star. That?s the .ski file; which is the one you want to open. It should be the only one that shows up. Select it, and then Skiman will begin installing the skin.












It will show you the progress of the skin as it installs it. Once its done, it will reread the files on your phone, and then say Ready in the bottom corner again.



Once that is done, select More and Restart phone. Then wait for your phone to restart and the skin files to show up again. Once that is done, you are free to disconnect your phone.

SEEM EDITING

SEEMS are storage containers for Phone Settings information. You can use programs like P2KSeem and P2KFunc to modify seem bits.(I use XVI32, because it's so simple.) Each setting is stored as a single bit, which can have a “value“ of 1 or 0. Often, the “value“ of a bit is represented by a check box, Checked = 1, Unchecked = 0.

So in this example:

Quote:
Originally Posted by MODDER
SEEM 0032_0001

bits: 00000000 <-- binary 76543210 <-- bit # **all offsets are HEX** offset 00 - bit 0: Settings > Initial Setup > Time and Date > Autoupdate Menu (1 on, 0 off)
bit 1: Settings > Initial Setup > Time and Date > date setting option (1 on, 0 off)
bit 2: Settings > Initial Setup > Auto Redial (1 on, 0 off)
bit 6: Settings > Phone Status > Other Information (1 on, 0 off)
bit 7: Settings > Phone Status > Other Information > S/W Version, DSP S/W Version, Language List (1 on, 0 off)

Seem 0032
represents which seem from your phone you're going to have to use to create the edits.

Offset represents what specific part of the seem controls the modification that you're going to do.

Bit represents the exact thing you need to change to activate or deactivate a mod.

There are 8 bits per offset. They go from 0 to 7.

Think of it as though you were a mailman having to deliver a package.

You would need to know what city (SEEM) you are delivering the package to. Once you're in the city, you need to know what street (OFFSET) to go to and then find the exact house or mailbox (BIT) to leave the package at. That's how it works with seem editing also.

This guide will help you understand a very crucial part of moto modding; seem editing. We will be covering two methods of seem editing in this guide, since there IS a difference in the two.

Those of you that are familiar with seem editing might still benefit from this guide. Seeing as there is a difference in how you must get the seem from your phone.

What you will need:

P2K TOOLS 3

Seem 0032_0001 from your phone

Seem 004a_0001 from your phone

Lets get started.

Method 1.

First, we will be editing seem 0032_0001 to get a picture grid view.

Open P2K Tools and make sure your phone is connected.

  1. Select the phone on the top left and then select p2k mode.

  2. Your phone will disconnect and then reconnect. Once its reconnected, select b>Refresh from the top menu.











  1. Select the Seem Editor tab.

  2. In box 2, there are two text boxes. In the first one (Seem), type 0032. This is the seem that we want to change. In the second box (Rec) type 0001. This is the record that we are trying to get to.

  3. Select From Phone. This will load the seem and record that we typed into box 2. Make sure you type in the seem you are looking for before you load from the phone.













Once that seem is opened, select To File. It should automatically give the name of the seem. Leave it as it is and save it in a location where you can easily find it later.

Now open XVI32. You should get a screen similar to the one below when its opened.























Go to File and select Open. Navigate to where you saved your 0032_0001.seem file and open it.

Lets take a break for a minute and learn a little about counting in hex, since its handy to know while seem editing. This was taken from the seem map and is a very useful little lesson on hex. Thanks goes to XLR8 for his work on the seem map and this little lesson.

Forget what you learned about counting to "10" in Kindergarten; lets count to "10" in hex...
00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 0A, 0B, 0C, 0D, 0E, 0F, 10 (exciting, huh? wanna count to "10" in binary? 00, 01, 10 EASY!)?

Now that you know how to count in hex, lets continue. You will understand more of what we are doing now.

You have opened your 0032_0001 seem. It should look something like this:











Lets get to editing the correct offset to get our picture grid view.

This is what the seem map tells us to do to get this done correctly.


seem 0032_0001 - offset A2 - bit 5: Picture Grid View (1 on, 0 off). 0 means unchecked. 1 means checked.

There are two ways to find the correct offset that we want. You can either select Address from the top menu and then select Goto, or you can press CTRL + G. It does the same thing. I?ll be using CTRL+G.










Press Ctrl + G and you will get a box that looks like this. Make sure that in the Go to box, hexadecimal is selected and that in the Go mode, absolute is selected. Select the box in go to and type A2. Then press ok. It will take you to the correct offset.












Now Select Tools and then Bit manipulation












You will then get a popup that looks like this. Yours may have different bits checked. Each bit does different things. When you take a look at the seem map, you will understand what I mean. Each Offset has 8 bits corresponding to it. Each bit will activate or deactivate certain functions of the phone. For us, we want to make sure that bit 5 is on (checked).

Once that is done, select Set. If your bit is already checked, just select Set.

For this seem edit, all we had to change was one bit. So now we are ready to save our seem and upload it back to our phone. There are other mods that require more than one seem edit to work. Just follow this same procedure.

Select File/Save As?














Make sure you save your seem as 0032_0001. I would also save it in a different folder than the original seem. So as to make sure you have your original, unmodded, seem handy incase something goes wrong.

Now, lets load the seem back to our phone. Go back to P2K Tools 3.












Once you are back in P2K Tools, select Seem Editor again. Make sure that in the Seem and Rec boxes it looks like the screenshot does here.

  1. Select From File. Navigate to where you saved your modded seem and open it.

  2. Now select To Phone. When I press this, nothing ever happens. But the changes are made.

Now all you have to do is restart your phone.
















Select the phone on the top left of P2K Tools 3 and then select Restart Phone. Once your phone reboots, you are done. Check out your new picture grid view.

Method 2.

This method of seem editing applies to certain seems only. Mainly seem 004a_0001 and 004b_0001 but it does apply to others also. Check out the seem map to see which ones those are.

In this section, I will only be showing the difference between the two methods. Before, we covered how to do seem edits using bit manipulation. Well, seem 004a does not have bit manipulation. So what do you do if you want to change parts of it? You do some hex editing.

Download your 004a_0001 seem from your phone using the method above. Once you have it, open XVI32.

We are going to be doing this seem edit:

offset 4D (00 SIM card NOT required for phone access, 01 SIM card required for phone access)

Now what is the first thing you notice when looking at this? It SHOULD be that there is no bit. How are you going to modify this seem if there is no BIT??!! Easy. Lets get to hex editing.

Press CTRL + G. You?ll get the Go To box like before.











Type 4D in the box and press OK. You will go directly to that offset.

Now here is the difference between what we did before and what we?re doing this time. In seem 004a_0001 and others, you will just change the value in the box. In our case, it says 01 in the box. We want to change that to 00. So? just type 00. Once you are done, it will look like this:



The offset in red is the one we just changed. Once you type it in, it will change and then jump to the next offset.

Now just save your seem. Make sure you save it in a different folder. I usually save mine in a folder named Modified Z3 Seems. You can save them wherever you want.


Compatible Programs for L9

Backing up:

Flash&Backup 3.0.5 and above (Registered to backup CG2)

Flashing:

Flash&Backup 3.0.5 and above, RSD Lite 3.6 and above

File Manager:

P2K Commander 4.9.2, MoST, M-Explorer, UniMoto

SEEMS:

P2K Advanced Editor v.5515 and above, P2K Tools VS

JAVA:

MotoMidMan

Skins:

Editing - Skinner4moto 0.2.8 and higher using L7e profile
Installing - SkiMan 0.47 and above

Menu Editing:

P2KMenuEditor 2.3 + mma Convert with Branding or MMA Advanced Editor

Firmware:

Splitting - SHXCodec, SBF-Recalc, Flash&Backup3.0.5 or higher
Compiling - SBF-Recalc, Flash&Backup3.0.5 or higher
DRM - 3GDRM, MotoSpeed
LP and Font Editing - MotoLangEditor 2.1.1, 3G Font Tool



MOTOROLA SLVR L9

Motorola have continued their tradition of the RAZR-like designed phones and the L-series has a new member, the SLVR L9. This phone is a direct successor of the L7 model and they do have a lot in common. In fact, they have almost no difference.

This handset is mainly targeted at the mid-range personal use. It doesn’t have some business enhancements or any media gadgets to offer, so its main purpose is to serve telephony to the users. With a new keypad, added EDGE supportand FM radio and a more powerful camera, L9 is headed to replace the older SLVR model and probably make some new friends on the way.

Key features:

  • Stylish looks
  • Very solid construction
  • microSD memory card slot
  • GPRS & EDGE - both Class 10
  • FM radio with RDS
  • 2 megapixel camera

Main disadvantages:

  • Not much innovation over L7
  • No 3G
  • Slow user interface
  • No Notes application

When we first saw the L9 we thought “it’s just like L7!” and we were eager to find out what were the differences between them. After short time we discovered that there are only few changes. Our opinion is that the final impression can be largely linked to the price tag that goes with the phone, as if it turns out to be much more expensive than its predecessor, it won’t pack a good deal. But if they are in close price range, buying the L9 would make sense. Now, let’s get into more detail about that new L9.

Bear in mind that the test unit we got is a pre-release one and some bugs are really acceptable at this product development stage. Some options and applications may vary in the final retail version.

As usually, Motorola kept the familiar SLVR design and continued the successful line of L7 and L6. The new thing here is the glossy front panel of our test device. The silver framing of the keypad and display is so shiny it can be even used as a mirror. The back of the phone is made of some rubber material and feels firmly in one’s hand. We didn’t hear a single creek sound from the phone’s body and it proved physically perfect during our tests.

With the same size as the L7 model, 113 x 49 x 11.5 mm and the same weight of 96 grams, the phone feels great when held in hand - just as heavy to allow you to use it easily.

Motorola L9 held in hand

Beside the silver glossy frame, the front of SLVR L9 also consists of a small Motorola logo on the very top, between the grills of the main speaker, and the sign “MOTOROLA” beneath it. Just below, is situated the display, but we’ll say more about it later. A contour line divides the space between the display and the keypad. From this line down comes the controversial keypad of Motorola SLVR L9.

On the back of the phone we found only the 2 megapixel camera lens, a small USB sign, indicating where the USB port is, the Motorola logo once again and two signs telling us that the phone has memory card support and records video. That’s all on the battery cover. On the very bottom of the back side is the loudspeaker grill.

When you take the battery cover off, you can see the Motorola BK 60 880 mAh Li-Ion battery. The manufacturer promises that this battery will provide about 350 hours of stand-by time and up to 4 hours of talk time. Whether this is true or not, we could not find out in our tests as we did not use the phone in ordinary daily fashion. Underneath the battery is the SIM card bed. The card is easily inserted and taken out, so there are no problems here. A good thing about Motorola L9 is that it supports the new MegaSIM technology which means that it allows for special SIM cards having up to 1GB of memory.

The top side of the phone has a button, which releases the back cover, and an eyelet for a neck or hand strip. The bottom is bare. The left side is home to the two volume keys and the voice command/record key.

The right side shelters the miniUSB port, the camera release button and the microSD card slot. Because of the standard USB port, Motorola L9 can be connected to a PC using a cable, most of you probably already have. The manufacturer puts such ports in most of their phones and that is something to be appreciated. Recently Nokia has started to do so, too.