Root HTC Desire - Semi Bricked at Hboot

[Mattcmf]

Hi Guys,

I am having a very similar issue, with the exception that I can access the recovery menu.

I restart as normal but instantly load into Hboot. 90% of the time it just freezes and requires a battery pull.
If I am lucky sometimes it will respond and I can get into a recovery. From there I can wipe the system and cache and install a new rom.

Once I have installed a new rom and restart, it simply reverts back to the frozen hboot.
I tried to flash an old recovery and got the message MD5 mismatch.
Strangest of all, I accidently selected backup at one point (in my rage) and the backup was labelled with the date 1980-01-06.00.02.22
Another strange observation, last time I attempted it, the middle button on the track ball would not work, yet the search button did..

I have seen other posts comment on water damage, but since the phone normally works fine once past the Hboot, I am hoping this is not the case.

Any help on this would be really appreciated.

 

[Hadron]

The date on the backup is probably because of a battery pull. I've seen my Desire lose the time and date when the battery is pulled, and I guess that any little backup battery it might have had on the motherboard is long dead. It resets both once it boots into Android, of course.

Do the volume keys work reliably if you get past hboot? A stuck volume key can throw you into hboot and leave you frozen.

 

[Mattcmf]

I think you are definitely onto something with the volume keys suggestion.
I have noticed on a few occasions, it has spammed mute until I rebooted, or more recently wouldn't even register the press for reducing volume.

The keys themselves are fine and click down and pop back up with ease. Do you know if there is any way of fixing this?