Root ROM upgrade/downgrade

[InTheRough]

With the problems showing up that people are having with downgrading their ROMs, I wonder if something could be added to the rooting guide to help.
Questions I have:
What are the upgrade/downgrade do's and don'ts?
Once I flash a ROM like Viper, what can I upgrade, and what should I wait for the developer to do instead? Radio? Kernel?
What can be done after flashing a ROM to return it to stock (or as close as can be) before going in for help at a Sprint store? Flash nandroid backup from before ROM flash? RUU? Which one?
How can I avoid getting the Hboot upgraded beyond the currently hacked version? Will nandroid or RUU restore the lower Hboot if it happens?

Another comment:
The rooting guide for dummies is a great help to put rooting information all in one place, as it takes mucho searching for people that are not very familiar with the process.. Thank you!

 

[Rxpert83]

With the problems showing up that people are having with downgrading their ROMs, I wonder if something could be added to the rooting guide to help.
Questions I have:
What are the upgrade/downgrade do's and don'ts?
Once I flash a ROM like Viper, what can I upgrade, and what should I wait for the developer to do instead? Radio? Kernel?
What can be done after flashing a ROM to return it to stock (or as close as can be) before going in for help at a Sprint store? Flash nandroid backup from before ROM flash? RUU? Which one?
How can I avoid getting the Hboot upgraded beyond the currently hacked version? Will nandroid or RUU restore the lower Hboot if it happens?

Another comment:
The rooting guide for dummies is a great help to put rooting information all in one place, as it takes mucho searching for people that are not very familiar with the process.. Thank you!

The brick issues seem to be happening only when people try to downgrade their radios/firmware. If you are on H-boot 1.15 or above you have nothing to worry about because you can't do that yourself.

You can upgrade/downgrade the ROM as you please


You cannot downgrade Hboots without S-OFF (and even then I'm not positive). Either way, you dont want to upgrade them either. Running an RUU or taking an OTA will update the H-boot

Sprint generally does not care if you are rooted, but unrooting the phone depends on what method was used to root it. If you used HTC dev or one of the automated scripts based off of it you'll need to re-lock the bootloader and then run the same RUU as your hboot

 

[dustwun77]

My phone is S off, so I can flash the newer firmware. I will not try downgrading it because that is how the guys bricked.

I have noticed, though, that sometimes the firmware is offered with the h boot, and sometimes without. I am not sure what is up with that. I made sure I didn't get the file with the h boot included when i went to flash it. I am not sure exactly what would have happened if I had flashed the new h boot, but I think, at least, i would have lost s off.

 

[InTheRough]

The brick issues seem to be happening only when people try to downgrade their radios/firmware. If you are on H-boot 1.15 or above you have nothing to worry about because you can't do that yourself.

You can upgrade/downgrade the ROM as you please


You cannot downgrade Hboots without S-OFF (and even then I'm not positive). Either way, you dont want to upgrade them either. Running an RUU or taking an OTA will update the H-boot

Sprint generally does not care if you are rooted, but unrooting the phone depends on what method was used to root it. If you used HTC dev or one of the automated scripts based off of it you'll need to re-lock the bootloader and then run the same RUU as your hboot

I am rooted via Zedomax method and S-off with lazypanda. I am particularly worried about doing anything that would replace the hboot at this point.

 

[InTheRough]

My phone is S off, so I can flash the newer firmware. I will not try downgrading it because that is how the guys bricked.

I have noticed, though, that sometimes the firmware is offered with the h boot, and sometimes without. I am not sure what is up with that. I made sure I didn't get the file with the h boot included when i went to flash it. I am not sure exactly what would have happened if I had flashed the new h boot, but I think, at least, i would have lost s off.

So what file is that for hboot, boot.img?

 

[Rxpert83]

My phone is S off, so I can flash the newer firmware. I will not try downgrading it because that is how the guys bricked.

I have noticed, though, that sometimes the firmware is offered with the h boot, and sometimes without. I am not sure what is up with that. I made sure I didn't get the file with the h boot included when i went to flash it. I am not sure exactly what would have happened if I had flashed the new h boot, but I think, at least, i would have lost s off.

No, you would keep s-off. You'd just have the new bootloader. There's nothing gained from having the new bootloader though. Keep it simple and don't update it.

So what file is that for hboot, boot.img?

Boot.IMG is where the kernel is stored. Anything that contains an hboot will explicitly say so.

The only time you'll run into it is firmware flashes