I tried for several days to somehow make HTC Sync (the latest and greatest Version: 2.0.18, that should work with Windows 7, but does not) connect to my HTC Hero. Finally, I gave up and decided to use Windows XP workstation for ROM upgrade. The reason I decided to upgrade from ROM 1.76.405.6 to 2.73.405.5 was sluggish screen navigation. Barely noticeable but annoying, nevertheless.

Here it is what I did to upgrade ROM on HTC Hero:

• made a backup of my files on SD card
• downloaded and installed the latest HTC Sync Version 2.0.18 on my Windows XP SP3 Workstation [protected with UPS, of course]
• connectec HTC Hero to Windows XP workstation with HTC Sync
• downloaded and installed ROM Upgrade for HTC Hero, Version 2.73.405.5, after I read accompanying readme. Update was done in approximately 4 minutes.
• new ROM means that you’ll need to repeat registration process (make sure you note down APN data of your mobile provider, otherwise you’ll not have data access to Google!) and make some minor tweaks, such as pick your default ring tone, setup wallpaper, re-create bookmarks, thumb pictures of your favorite people, enter your stocks in Yahoo Finance! etc. I hope some day HTC will provide a better backup method than limited HTC Sync with calendar and contacts backup. And that is not all, you’ll also need a fresh installation of all the applications that you installed from Android Market.
  [Unfortunately, I found out about Android excellent Astro File Manager application too late to use it to backup my old applications. Sic.]
  Installation of applications can be time consuming and error prone process. For example my attempt to install my “old” applications failed miserably – hanging with “Starting download…” messages. I found on the net several hints about rectifying stuck download, what worked in my case was to clear the cache: Menu->Settings->Applications->Manage Applications->then scroll down and select the Market and "Clear cache".

Since my hands were already dirty, I decided to setup Dalvik Debug Monitor, primarily for taking some screen shots of my phone. Here it is:

• downloaded Android SDK, at the time of writing this blog it was android-sdk_r05-windows.zip
• I unzipped file in some temporary directory
• then I run “SDK setup.exe” from directory where I unzipped SDK (E:\DVD\HTC\android-sdk-windows)
• I checked for installation only packages that are needed for Android 1.5 platform (see below picture)



• connect your HTC Hero to USB port on your computer and check that USB debugging is turned on (Menu->Settings->Applications->Development->check USB debugging)
• run Dalvik Debug Monitor by executing ddms.bat from \android-skd-windows\tools directory. When GUI starts, select yout HTC from left upper pane, then open Device menu and select Screen capture. That’s it. Here are some screen shot examples from my HTC:

The last picture is from Astro File Manager, imho a must have application for every android based phone owner!

After a day of using HTC Hero with upgraded ROM, all I can say is that screen navigation is now smooth. Certainly an upgrade effort worth of my time.