Losing Call Logs, SMS or Emails? Optimize your BB! How To Setup for max free memory!
 

Are you losing call logs and text messages? Or did you just get a new BB device but are unsure how to best set it up? Maybe you are upgrading your OS and want to have a nice clean installation. The setup wizard removes a few things but not all that should be removed. Many of you have asked me what I do to free up memory on my devices and prevent loss of emails and call logs, etc. I've decided to list out for you exactly what I do to my device. You may want to setup your device slightly different but this is a good starting point.

So, this is John Clark's "How To" on setting up your new device for maximum memory. We want to add the apps we want/use but get rid of anything we don't want. In the following tutorial I will go over what I do on my devices to maximize memory but get the apps I want when I get a new BB or update the OS on my existing BB. This post may seem long but the process is actually quite simple once you get through it. Any of the .alx editing (steps 4 & 5) can be skipped if you just want the device to be setup "out of the box." If you skip steps 4 & 5 you will have a device loaded with apps as the carrier wanted them to be. You'll still be able to remove unused languages, sample videos and a few apps that take up space.

Here is what we are going to go over:
1. Install Desktop Manager and backup the device.
2. Install OS package. (Additional and separate download from the Desktop Manager above)
3. Delete vendor.xml.
4. Edit Blackberry.alx & LBS.alx.
5. Remove unwanted .cod's from the java folder and place in "Removed Modules" folder.
6. Connect BB and run Loader.exe (or Desktop Manager. Instructions below for DM installation.) Open Application Loader and and finish to add/remove the .cod's added/removed from java folder.

Detailed instructions: (to read these instructions in Chinese Click Here. Thanks to BBF Member youzang for the translated instructions.)


1. Install Desktop Manager to your computer.

Note: Installation of Desktop Manager is optional. I recommend using Loader.exe found in C:\program files\common files\research in motion\apploader after the OS is installed to the computer. "Loader.exe" will install the OS and make changes to the installed applications and apply edits to the java folder and BlackBerry.alx file that I will discuss further in this thread. However, it's a good idea to have DM installed so that you can make the backups I will discuss.

Instructions for installing DM:

If you didn't receive a disk with your device or you want the latest version of this software click HERE. There are several versions listed at the download site. Make sure you download a version of "Desktop Manager" (not Device Manager) and choose whether you want a version with or without Media Manager, if offered. Desktop Manager is the program that you will use for adding software, syncing your PIM data, backing up and restoring data, and if you're on a BES you can use it to connect to your corporate mail profile to start Enterprise Activations. It's also the software that installs new OS's to your device. (Note: OS's are not included with Desktop Manager but must be installed separately to the PC, even if an OS is already installed to your handheld.) During installation be sure to select BES/Redirector for Work/Corporate email if you are on a corporate BES and also the type of email system your company uses i.e. Exchange, Lotus, etc. Desktop Manager will connect to your work email profile and server if installed properly and you have access to your company's network (via LAN, VPN, etc.)


http://www.blackberryforums.com/media/JCMOP/DM471.JPG

http://www.blackberryforums.com/media/JCMOP/DM472.JPG

http://www.blackberryforums.com/media/JCMOP/DM473.JPG


If you're not on a BES, or if you are on a BES but you don't want to connect this particular computer to your corporate email system, install using Blackberry Internet System (BIS) Personal Email method for email (even if you don't get email on your device.) Install using BIS method if you are unsure. However, if you're a BES user and you install using BIS method you won't be able to Enterprise Activate after an OS update. You'll need to contact your IT dept for a password (just adding or removing applications or themes will not require a new Enterprise Activation.) If you're unsure contact your IT administrator for help on installing Desktop Manager for use with your company.


http://www.blackberryforums.com/media/JCMOP/DM474.JPG



Before beginning with step 2 it's best to backup the device data and 3rd party apps in case anything goes wrong during the changing. Use the Desktop Manager's Backup/Restore feature to make a backup of the data on your device.


http://www.blackberryforums.com/media/JCMOP/DM47.JPG


http://www.blackberryforums.com/medi...P/DMBackup.JPG


If you like you can also make a backup of all 3rd party apps by following the instructions Here.


2. Install your Blackberry's OS installation package to your PC.

Desktop Manager needs this ADDITIONAL software installed in order to recognize the OS software already on your Blackberry. If you install the same OS that's already on your device then you can make changes to the apps already installed on your BB. Note: If you install a newer version then Desktop Manager will want to upgrade the OS on your BB. An upgrade takes roughly an hour so if you have time for that go ahead and install a newer version. You can use newer versions from any other carrier that releases the OS for your device. For example you can load Vodafone's 8300 OS to your AT&T 8300. The OS's are made for each individual device not necessarily anything special for the carrier. It's safe to load another carrier's OS to your device. Don't worry. However, for the purposes of this thread we are going to optimize the OS that is already on your BB so be sure you download the version that is already on your BB, if that is all you want to do. If you don't know what version you have you can look on your BB under Options >About or from the home screen hold the alt key and type E A C E. The Version number will be in a format like: 4.2.2.170. Once you know your version number you can go to THIS site and download the OS for your device. Again, if you have a GSM device you can download from any GSM carrier. If you have a CDMA device you can download from any CDMA carrier. The important thing is to download the same version number as is already on your handheld. Once you download it, double click on it to install it to your PC. This is in addition to installing Desktop Manager as described in step one. Note: OS's have two version numbers. One is a package number and the other is an application version. The application version is what is listed in Options >About. Pay careful attention to make sure you get the right application version.

3. Delete the vendor.xml file.
Once Desktop Manager AND your OS are installed to your PC you need to go to the following directory and delete a file. Go to C:\program files\common files\research in motion\apploader and delete the file called "vendor.xml." This file just tells Desktop Manager to only load an OS to the device of the same carrier that's branded to the device. For example, if I have a TMobile BB and download an OS from Vodafone the OS won't load to the device unless I delete the vendor.xml file. Nothing is lost by deleting this file it only serves this one purpose and nothing else. Once that is deleted you can continue on. (Note: This vendor.xml file gets reinstalled with any OS installation or Desktop Manager installation so you may have to delete it again at a later date if you install another OS or update Desktop Manager.)


http://www.blackberryforums.com/medi.../VendorXml.JPG


4. Edit Blackberry.alx & LBS.alx. Before we plug in the device and remove anything we don't want lets make a few modifications for themes. You can add all the different vendor's themes to your device if you like, including the TMobile MyFaves application/theme. However, I don't recommend leaving them all on your device at one time. There is a method of editing a file called "Blackberry.alx" so that these other themes will be loaded to the device. Each carrier has their own vendor code. For example TMobile's is 100. AT&T's is 102. These codes are written into the device and can't be changed. This is how Desktop Manager knows what brand of device you have and loads the OS appropriately. If we leave everything as is, then AT&T theme will be loaded to the AT&T devices but not to, say, TMobile's devices. We can edit the Blackberry.alx so that the desktop Manager will load any or all of the themes. If you have an AT&T device we can edit the LBS.alx file so that Blackberry Maps will be loaded (AT&T doesn't load BBMaps to their devices. They want you to purchase a mapping software. However, we can load BBMaps easily to an AT&T device.) Also, if you have an AT&T device it will have PTT (push to talk) preloaded on it. This is great if you use PTT but if you don't use it it only takes up valuable memory space. We're going to make some simple edits to remove PTT and add themes.



To Add All Themes: (we will remove the ones we don't want later.)
Navigate the the following location in windows explorer:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research In Motion\Shared\Loader Files
In this folder should be a folder corresponding to the version of software you've installed. For instance installing OS 4.5.0.55 software for 8320, creates the folder:

\8320-v4.5.0.55_P2.7.0.68


http://www.blackberryforums.com/medi...ckberryalx.JPG


In this folder, open the "BlackBerry.alx" file in your text editor of choice. I usually just use NotePad. If your computer asks you what program you want to use to open the file, just choose NotePad from the list. You can check the box that asks if you want Windows to Always use Notepad to open .alx file types.

Note: If you don't see the "Shared" folder go back to step #2 and install the OS to your device as instructed.

Scroll down until you see lines of text with the following:
_vendorID="xxx"

where xxx is one or many 3 digit values. The best way to accomplish this is to search for the "_vendorID=" portion using the editor's built in search. For each instance, remove the string including the quotes and the containing values. The example below shows
the string for vendor ID 102 (AT&T)


<fileset Colour="True" Java="1.0" series="8700" _vendorID="102">
<files>
net_rim_theme_102a_icon_320x240_w.cod
</files>
</fileset>

would become:

<fileset Colour="True" Java="1.0" series="8700">
<files>
net_rim_theme_102a_icon_320x240_w.cod
</files>
</fileset>

Simply remove the info in bold above then save the file. Below is an example of what it looks like:


http://www.blackberryforums.com/medi...endorcodes.JPG



If using Windows Vista you may need to save the new file to the desktop first, then copy and paste the new file back into the original folder again. Vista doesn't always allow a "save as" directly to the original location. Once the vendor ID info is removed the theme listed below will be installed to any 8700. Do this for all the instances of vendor ID that are there. They're all in one place so once you find them you'll see them all.
Once you've done this to all of them you will get all the vendor themes loaded to your device. We will talk later about how to easily remove the ones you don't want and add them back if you do want them.

To Add BBMaps on OS 4.3 and lower devices (OS 4.5 and higher BBMaps requires a service book and it can't be added using this method): (if you want it.)

If you have an AT&T device or a device without BBMaps (and OS 4.3 and lower) do the same for the LBS.alx file:

Open the LBS.alx and scroll down until you see a string similar to the following:

<!-- For 8800 series, hide the icon for Cingular (102), Vodafone Germany (124), Vodafone Austria (137) and all
Orange properties. --><fileset SystemSize="normal" Colour="True" Java="1.0" _vendorID="~102|124|137|119|162|142|183|147|217"
series="8800">
<files>
net_rim_bb_lbs_ribbon.cod
</files>
</fileset>
<!-- For non-8800 series, show the icon for all carriers except Vodafone Germany (124), Vodafone Austria (137) and all Orange properties. -->
<fileset SystemSize="normal" Colour="True" Java="1.0"series="8800">
<files>
net_rim_bb_lbs_internal_gps.cod
</files>
</fileset>
<fileset SystemSize="normal" Java="1.0">
<files>
net_rim_bb_lbs_resource_en.cod
</files>
</fileset>

Remove all references to xxx8220;_vendorID=xxx8230;..xxx8221; and device codes. Remove the text in bold as shown above and leave the > symbol at the end.

The above code would be changed to the following:
<!-- For 8800 series, hide the icon for Cingular (102), Vodafone Germany (124), Vodafone Austria (137) and all Orange properties. -->
<fileset SystemSize="normal" Colour="True" Java="1.0">
<files>
net_rim_bb_lbs_ribbon.cod
</files>
</fileset>
<!-- For non-8800 series, show the icon for all carriers except Vodafone Germany (124), Vodafone Austria (137) and all Orange properties. -->
<fileset SystemSize="normal" Colour="True" Java="1.0">
<files>
net_rim_bb_lbs_internal_gps.cod
</files>
</fileset>
<fileset SystemSize="normal" Java="1.0">
<files>
net_rim_bb_lbs_resource_en.cod
</files>
</fileset>

Save the file (as the same name) when you are done.

You are now done with editing those darned .alx files.



5. Remove unwanted .cod's (themes, applications, etc.) from the java folder and place in "Removed Modules" folder.
Now we want to remove the themes and applications we don't want. Our editing of the Blackberry.alx will add everything. If you want everything then you can skip this step. However, some of the added themes are large and the device doesn't perform to well with them all installed. It's easy to run out of memory and lose emails and call logs when the device runs low on memory. The easiest way to remove the themes we don't want is to remove them from the jave directory. In the same directory as the .alx files is a folder named java. In that folder are all the .cod's that get loaded to the device during an OS installation. All we have to do is remove the unwanted theme .cod's from the java folder and they will not be installed to the device. We can also remove the PTT .cod files to remove PTT from the AT&T devices. Another application I like to remove this way is Voice Activated Dialing. If you use VAD then don't remove the VAD .cod's but if you're like me it isn't worth the memory it takes up. Be aware that if the VAD (Voice Activated Dialing) files are removed from OS 4.3 and up devices then the Option >About screen becomes inaccessible. You can get the same info by typing in alt + EACE from the home screen on your BB.

Create a folder in the java folder called Removed Modules. Then simply move the unwanted theme .cod's into that folder. You are safe to remove any vendor coded .cod.


http://www.blackberryforums.com/medi...ulesFolder.JPG


http://www.blackberryforums.com/medi...vedModules.JPG


Remove any you don't want. I usually get rid of the 102 (AT&T) as it's the largest and I don't like it anyway. You can always load them all, try them out, and then go back and remove the ones you don't want. Most of us have a theme or two that are our favorites. Just load your one or two faves and remove the others. You can come back and add them again later, if you want some variety.


The themes are generally as follows:

Theme .cod's are listed as:
net_rim_theme_100...
net_rim_theme_102a... etc.

The numbers below are the vendor ID's for each carrier and will help you identify which themes are which.

You can safely delete any of the below vendor-numbered themes. The size listed is an average size for that carrier's theme. As you can see a couple of them are quite big.
100=Tmobile 240kb
102=AT&T 769kb
104=Sprint 17kb
105=Verizon 572kb
107=Rogers 287kb
109=Bell 194kb
114=TMo UK 243kb
115=TIM 698kb
119=Orange 635kb
120=Vodafone 624kb
125=O2 349kb
129=Telefonica 30kb
162=Orange Switzerland (uses 119 theme)
183=Orange Global (uses 119 theme)
204=China Mobile
241=Alcatel Shanghai Bell (uses 204 theme)

TMo MyFaves apps will be automatically loaded with this edit. However, you can also safely delete TMo myfaves apps if you don't use myfaves (Note: If you are not using MyFaves then I highly recommend removing the myfaves modules, especially if you are using a CDMA device (8130, 8830, 8330, etc.) as having those apps installed will cause booting errors on your device. We've edited the Blackberry.alx file to add them so if you want/need the MyFaves, leave the cod's in the java folder. If not, move the following MyFaves .cod's in your Removed Modules folder:

net_rim_bb_media_100_five_icon_library.cod
net_rim_bb_media_114_five_icon_library.cod
net_rim_tmo_five.cod

Note: I don't recommend removing the bbdimension, Dimension zen, Dimension L, or dimension Today themes as some of the above themes need these in order to run. Also, 3rd party custom themes require these to be installed in order to function. Removing the Dimension themes will make it impossible to use these 3rd party themes.

Edit: If you'd like to just use the Dimension zen theme you can safely remove the bbdimension icon, bbdimension L, and bbdimension today. I, personally, just TMo Zen so I the only themes I have installed are the bbdimension zen, and TMobile Zen. Everything else is removed. However, as mentioned above 3rd party themes may not work without dimension themes.

Note: Be careful when removing a theme that might be currently in use. If you remove a theme that is currently in use your BB will boot up to a black and white screen with basic icons. If this happens, simply navigate to the swiss army knife icon (options or settings) and then scroll down to themes and select a theme. Your BB doesn't know what theme to use if you delete the one it's using so it boots with the basic default theme included with the OS. If you are unable to select a theme then you'll need to go back and add back the Dimension Theme you removed.


To remove PTT from AT&T devices remove the following .cod's:
net_rim_bb_phone_ptt_app.cod
KnJCDE.cod

To Remove Voice Activated Dialing:
net_rim_vad.cod
net_rim_vad_resource.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__en.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__en_US.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__en_GB.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__de.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__de.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__fr.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__fr.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__fr_CA.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__it.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__it.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__es.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__es.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__es_MX.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__pt.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__pt_BR.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__pt_BR.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__hu.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__ca.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__cs.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__nl.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__nl.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__pl.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__pl.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__tr.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__ru.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__ru.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__zh_CN.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__zh_CN.cod
net_rim_vad_engine_resource__zh_HK.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__ar.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__ja.cod
net_rim_vad_resource__he.cod

Note: On OS 4.5.0.93 and higher you'll need to remove the following module:

net_rim_cm_customerservice.cod

This .cod adds 5 or 6 red icons that are used in conjunction with the carrer China Mobile.

Note: On Voice Dialing you likely don't need to delete every one of these .cod's. If you are using English only you can delete the first 4 on this list. If you're using something other than english, delete the first 4 and then any other of the .cod's for the language you're using. However, it doesn't hurt to remove all the VAD .cod's if you're not sure and you don't want VAD.

Note: When removing Voice Dialing it will disable the Options >About screen on OS 4.3 and higher devices. You can get the same info about device and OS by hitting alt + e a c e or alt + rt shift + H.

To Remove Preinstalled Wallpapers:
The prenistalled Wallpapers are the second largest .cod installed to the BB's device memory. The first is the sample video. On some of the Pearls, the preinstalled wallpapers are the largest, even larger than the sample video. The sample video can be removed using the application loader but the preinstalled wallpapers can't. We can remove them by removing the associated .cod from the java folder:

On Qwerty devices with OS 4.3 and lower:
net_rim_bb_media_320x240_b.cod (1.7MB)

On SureType devices with OS 4.3 and lower (pearl:)
net_rim_bb_media_240x260_b.cod (3.5MB)

On Qwerty devices with OS 4.5 and higher:
net_rim_bb_medialoader_320x240_b.cod

On SureType devices with OS 4.5 and higher:
net_rim_bb_medialoader_240x260_b.cod

Note: On OS 4.5.0.52 and higher OS's the preloaded video and preloaded wallpapers/custom folder icons have been removed by RIM so they will no longer be found in the java folder. There's obviously no need to remove them. :-)

Note: BlackBerry Pearl 82XX Flip. Removing these files will cause the exterior LCD to only show the carrier name. You will not be able to view the clock, status or read messages. The 82XX has plenty of memory and you will be fine leaving this cod file.

Note: Removing this media/medialoader.cod on OS's will also remove custom folder icons (which I don't use anyway.) You can still add a folder to your homescreen but your only choice will be the yellow folder icon. (thanks to Iare Tosevite for bringing this to my attention.)

Edit 11/9/08: OS 4.5.0.69 and higher has no preloaded media files. The medialoader.cod contains only the preloaded folder icons and uses very little memory and can now be left on the device.

You can always move the .cod's back to the java folder and re run application loader to add back any of these themes or files. Likewise you can add all of them, find out which ones you like and then go back and move the ones you don't like into the removed modules folder and run application loader to remove them from the device. Pretty simple, really.

6. Connect BB and run Loader.exe

This is found in C:\program files\common files\research in motion\apploader. This will open the application loader and allow you to make changes to the installed OS or upgrade/downgrade the OS depending on what OS is installed on the PC.
Once you've removed everything you know you don't above want we can now connect the device to the computer and run application Loader (Loader.exe.) If you desire you can use Desktop Manager as shown below but it's a little slower than the basic Loader.exe program.


http://www.blackberryforums.com/medi...MApploader.JPG


If you installed a newer OS than what was on the device then Desktop Manager should prompt you to upgrade once you plug in the device and start Desktop Manager. If not, run Application Loader and you should see a list of applications. To maximize space uncheck anything you don't need.

Personally, I uncheck the following:

All foreign languages.
Any preinstalled IM applications (since I use JiveTalk)
Any foreign Characters and Font Support
Blackberry MDS Runtime
Blackberry Sample Video
Brickbreaker
DOD Root Certificates
Help (if you are new to BB you may not want to remove this as it can be "help"ful.

And I make sure the following ARE checked:
Core Applications
Blackberry Attachment Service.
Blackberry Messenger (if you don't have a data plan or you don't use it, this is a good one to uncheck. You
can always plug in and check it again later if you want it back.)
Any other apps as desired ( tasks, memo pad, Password Keeper, Documents To Go etc.)
Any Third Pary Apps I want to leave installed on the device.

This window is also where you "Add" 3rd party apps. Click on the Add button (or "Browse" button on DM 4.5 and higher as shown above) and browse to where you stored the .alx and .cod for the 3rd party app you want to install. Choose the .alx file and click ok. Your 3rd party app will be installed.

Note: If you only made changes to the java folder for themes, etc. you will need to open application loader (it won't prompt you for anything) and you may not see any changes on the application loader screen with all the checkboxes. However, the changes will be made when you finish the application loader.

When you are done checking and unchecking boxes, click Next.


http://www.blackberryforums.com/medi...checkboxes.JPG



The next window will tell you what's going to be added and removed from the device.

http://www.blackberryforums.com/medi...erremovals.JPG

If you're doing an upgrade there will be many items listed. If you only made some minor changes to themes then you will see just those listed. Click Finish to add or remove the themes and/or start the upgrade. If you're upgrading the OS be sure and make the backup that the loader prompts you to do. It should say in the above window that data will be backed up. Also, if you're upgrading the device will appear to hang with an hourglass for up to 20 minutes or more twice during the upgrade. This is normal. When a new OS has been added the first boot takes 10-20 minutes and will show the hourglass for that 20 minutes. This is nothing to be concerned with so DO NOT unplug the device. Subsequent boots only take a minute or two as normal.

Now your device should be optimized for max memory. I also recommend using a media card (if your device supports it) for photos and media storage. You don't want those photos taking up space that you just worked so hard to free up.

Good luck and happy thumbing....




***Note: You will have to do this process each time you upgrade your OS. Simply run this same process on the new OS/java folder created after installing the new OS to the PC. Be sure to delete the vendor.xml again.

Frequently asked questions:

Q: How do I get rid of the AT&T/Verizon etc. shopping icons?

A: Those are service books and can be deleted from Options >Advanced Options >Service Book. However, they'll likely come back the next time the device registers on the network so it's probably best to just hide the icons. Highlight the icon then hit the menu key from the main screen and select "Hide Icon." On trackwheel model BB's Hit alt + click the trackwheel from the main screen and select "Hide Icon."

Q: When try to run application loader I get the following message: The application "Browser" cannot be loaded because it requires the following applications that are not available: net.rim.blackberry.xml.

A: You made an error editing your Blackberry.alx file. Check your Blackberry.alx edits. If you can't find where you made the error then you'll need to put the original back and re-edit. If you happened to make a copy of the original Blackberry.alx, restore that and edit again. If not, just install the OS to the PC again and follow these instructions again. You'll need to remove the vendor.xml again as well as remove all the modules from the java folder again.

Q: When I run Application Loader it wants to "downgrade" my Documents To Go. How can I prevent it from "downgrading" my Docs To Go.

A: Delete or rename or move the DocumentsToGo.alx file to another location. Once it's renamed or removed the Application Loader will treat your current Docs To Go as a 3rd party app (which it really is) and leave it alone or if upgrading the OS it will back it up and restore it.


Please don't copy and past this post into other forums without my permission. You're welcome to post a link to it, if you like, though. ~Thanks, JC.

Fantastic guide! (y)

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8800/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

So what exactly do I do to free up memory?

Haha

Great guide JC!

Now thats a sticky. We so needed this for such a long time. Nice one JC!!

Wirelessly posted (8800: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8310/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Thanks, John!

Wirelessly posted (TMO BlackBerry 8100: BlackBerry8100/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Thank you sir!

Great guide!

Just a small thing you need to add... Removing media file will remove ability to have any color/icon other than bland yellow folders as your folder icon.

That's why I added it back, even with 1.5 MB size. There is no other apparent uses for it.

well he mentioned that there was 1 required theme

This is awesome! I use most of these tips already but there were a couple I didn't know. Thanks!

Thanks. I added that. I never would have known since I never use any folders.

Excellent! Thanks, John.

Can anyone tell me what this one is for?

net_rim_bb_media_tunebundles_qualcomm.cod

That would be the .cod for ringtones/notifiers on the CDMA devices. I don't deal with CDMA so didn't think about those being different.

I believe if you uncheck the sample video in desktop manager, it will still show in the media folder with the file name but show 0 byte, and if you remove this net_rim_bb_medialoader_video_83xx_320x240.cod, it will be totally gone, but you have to remove it before you install the OS.

Ah, thanks. :)

Already removed this one - net_rim_bb_media_240x260_b.cod...it's 2 MB on my Pearl, and this one: net_rim_bb_media_100_five_icon_library.co_ for another 500K. :)

lm Loving life since i got my old 8700 ringtones on my 2 curve's :razz:

incredible; thanks!!!

which file i must delete to remove preinstalled ringtones?

Very handy info. Thanx!

Just discovered a side benefit...there was some sample music on my Pearl that I wanted to remove. It appears that removing the net_rim_bb_media_240x260_b.cod file included removal of the sample audio...at least it was gone when I looked this AM! :)

Awesome, thanks John! I don't know how you do without Brickbreaker though! ;)

Oh man, awesome thread! I'm still awaiting my BlackBerry Curve but was looking for a post like this ("What to do when setting up your BlackBerry for the first time!"). Thanks so much!

Anything to help a good friend! ;-)

These are the two .cod's I've found in the GSM OS's.

net_rim_bb_media_tunebundles_sonicnetworks.cod
net_rim_bb_profiles_tunes_tunebundles_tunes8700g.c od

The names of the tunebundle files may vary on CDMA devices.

Removing these will leave you with no notifiers, as well....like for email, sms, etc.

WOW John, thanks SO much! That's kinda sorta what I suggested to you the other evening, but SO much more! VERY much appreciated!

One other question - what exactly does:

net_rim_bb_medialoader_video_83xx_320x240.cod @2,505KB

do, and what do I lose if I remove that one?

That's the sample video that can be removed using application loader. You can also remove that .cod, if you'd rather do it that way but there is a checkbox for the sample video. It would be nice if they had a checkbox for the wallpapers...

Ahh, thanks. Rats. Had already removed that via apploader some time back, thought I might be able to save some more space.

Thanks again - you're a great guy, no matter what those others say about you. ;-) :razz:

hahaha. thx John, :D

Great guide!

My application Loader only shows one item in the list (Facebook), so I can't get rid of:
All foreign languages.
Any preinstalled IM applications
Blackberry Sample Video
Brickbreaker
:(

Great write up John!

Happen to know the module names for TelNav, the AT&T crap that gets installed (ringtone downloads, game downloads) and voice recorder?

I was able to follow all the steps, but when it was time to run the Application Loader I couldn't finish, because I got the following error message:

The application "Browser" cannot be loaded because it requires the following applications that are not available: net.rim.blackberry.xml

I didn't delete any file by that name, and a search finds no such file anywhere on my system (not in Recycle Bin either), so I'm not sure what I did wrong. Somehow I managed to break something.

You edited your Blackberry.alx file wrong. Replace it with the original .alx file or go back to step #4 again to find your mistake.

I found it and corrected it. After that, it worked well. Thank you for the help.

I have a question regarding the preloaded themes. I have a TMO Curve, and I'm getting ready to customize the install to eliminate unwanted apps. Because I'm installing the .180 TMO update, I didn't change the "vendor.xml" file.

Given that my "vendor.xml" file is intact, do I still need to remove all the themes that correspond with the different vendor numbers (such as "net_rim_theme_102a_icon_320x240_b.cod")? Or will App Loader automatically ignore them?

Also, in addition to the other vendor coded themes, I have the following theme files:

net_rim_theme_100_320x240_b.cod
net_rim_theme_bbdimension_today_320x240_b.cod
net_rim_theme_bbdimension_icon_320x240_b.cod
net_rim_theme_bbdimension_zen_320x240_b.cod


The only theme I want remaining on my Curve is the T-Mobile Zen theme. I'm assuming that I would need to leave the "net_rim_theme_bbdimension_zen_320x240_b.cod" and the "net_rim_theme_100_320x240_b.cod" intact to only have that theme?


Also, I've seen some instructions that involve manually removing all the .cod language files before loading the OS onto the BB. Is that necessary? Or is the same thing achieved by simply not selecting those languages in the App Loader Wizard?

Thanks in advance. Still new to the BB experience and trying to figure this stuff out.

It seems that taking out the spell checker would also liberate some memory. Is this possible, or is it too deeply embedded?

Excellent!
http://img126.exs.cx/img126/7776/cheers.gif
Now, all I need is the guts (and the time) to run thru this and delete stuff I don't need.

THANK YOU!

Wow, you did a fantastic Job at explaining everything ... I have seen a few how to on here, but this is clearly the best. Thank you for putting your valuable time into this one.

As always, thanks John for always putting out great information (y) (y) (y)

why did I never think to uninstall (sic) the wallpapers! Thanks JC, this sticky is gold. :)

Most of the answers to your questions are in my post.

The basic dimension themes can be deleted but many times other themes rely on them for operation so, if deleted, other themes you may install won't work. Give it a try. I recommend leaving them in for the first install. Then you can go back and remove them one at a time and see what happens. If you get a black and white home screen then you'll know you need to put them back.

Those are service books.

The voicenotes .cod can likely be removed if you don't use it but it doesn't take up that much space, really. (35KB)

You probably could remove spell checker. However, I haven't tried it since I do use it. The automatic check before sending an email I find quite useful, actually. It's caught many a typo in my emails.

I take no responsibility if you toast your BB by removing something that shouldn't be removed, though! ;-)

This post takes into account removing the largest unnecessary .cod files that get loaded to the device. If you want to see what's taking up the most memory on your device, OS wise, just go into your java folder and sort the files by size (just click on the size lable at the top of the list.) You'll see the jave files sorted by size. There may be other .cod's you can remove, like voicenotes and search, etc., but you won't gain much by removing them as they are at the bottom of the list size-wise. You can likely remove them but since there can always be adverse effects when removing files, I'm not sure the gain is worth the risk. Just my opinion.

I'll leave it alone for now. I'm still deciding whether I'm going to keep this thing, and I don't seem to be having memory issues. But I am grateful for being able to throw all those wallpapers overboard, along with voice dialing.

What's app error 523? Then it has option to reset.

Everything works fine, then out of no where error 523 comes up.

Thanks, I figured it out.

I also got some extra things on my Pearl.

I have 3 new icons on my main menu: change wallpaper, device info, and change date and time.

http://i12.tinypic.com/7xxdl7d.png

http://i1.tinypic.com/8aw0fa8.png

http://i9.tinypic.com/8epsnid.png

I have almost 23MB of free space.
http://i15.tinypic.com/6yp226x.png

Im messing with more things as we speak, I don't need a lot of the stuff so that's why im deleting things.

i have about the same memory free, but dont have those 3 icons listed even under the VZW theme.

Deleting stuff I have 25 mbs free, with 4 apps installed.

Man I don't come even close to having that much free memory. I must have too many apps installed or too many texts and emails.

Jared

I have it on all my themes, not just the Verizon theme.

I setup a batchfile that copies the .cod's to a different folder and then deletes them. That way I don't have to manually do it every time I download a new a new OS.

Here is my blackberry.alx file that I edited and removed some stuff. It adds the 3 new icons.

Backup your old blackberry.alx file before using this one.

Rename from .txt to .alx, then install in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research In Motion\Shared\Loader Files

The run apploader in DM and hit next, it should install. :2thumbs:

DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any damage you cause to your BB, replace at your own risk.`This one is specific to the Alltel OS, I tried it on other OS and it worked.

RapidShare: 1-Click Webhosting

Oh my lanta, what has come over me? I have freed up more space almost 28MB now. I will make it to 30MB by tomorrow, I know I can :razz:

http://i16.tinypic.com/7xnr38i.png

Wow, what a great posting John!
I'm new to BB so forgive me if I missed something in your post, but how do I remove (i.e Wallpaper) after everything was installed?
Chris

You can remove later by doing the exact same thing. simply remove the .cod from the java folder and then plug in the device, run apploader all the way through to the end. The module (.cod file) will be removed when it's not recognized.

I have a bout 28MB free on my device as well. However, this was never a goal to see how many apps I could remove from the device and still have it function. The goal was to remove the big items that are not used. If you use them or want them, by all means, keep them.

Freeing up all this memory doesn't guarantee you won't lose call logs and emails but it will take the device a little longer to get to that point.

Really Tricky but i guess i can do that!! Thanks

Finally got around to doing this, great tips, Thanks!

I'm only up to around 18mb free, but looking for other things I can get rid of... 8-)

I do have a question- I removed VAD per the instructions, but I can still access the status screen in options with no problems. Did I miss something?

It's the Options >About screen that you can't access.

Odd, on my 8300 i removed VAD and PTT and can still access the about screen.

That's an OS 4.3 issue where the About screen won't come up.

Ah, ill have to test with the 8120.

Just did this process - thanks so much, John Clark! I now have over 27 megs free (I kept the BB Messenger, AIM and Google Chat, but got rid of everything else). Awesome!

Can someone helpme with step #5.. ?

I followered everything but after I run AppLoader I still have the preloaded pics/ringtones..Any idea why..?

You had to have missed a step in there somewhere. Go back and go through each step and make sure you didn't miss anything.

yeah, I just did it again and same thing.. :(

Are you going all the way through the Application loader until it says Finished?

yes, off course..

At the end it says, no files needed to be removed or sumthin like that.

Make sure vendor.xml is deleted.

make sure the files you are moving are from the proper OS folder. The OS version folder should match the OS on your device.

Make sure you are moving the files and not copying the files.

aghhhh, got it!

vendor file wasn't deleted thanks man..(y)

ty u john i followed the step and i now have 28mb ty ty

The instructions seem simple enough, but for a new guy with little experience doing this sort of thing, what are the chances that I will destroy my pearl?

There is little chance you will destroy it, unless you hammer it with a brick, with is not in the instruction list :razz:

John's instructions are fairly foolproof and specific as to what to do. Following the instructions exactly as written lessen your chances of any problems. John Clark is an aircraft pilot... he is, shall we say, sorta used to following checklists to the 't', and his instructions on this forum normally follow that high degree of exactness.

However, if you were to freeze it or not succeed in rebooting, there are wipe and restore applications for that purpose.

As always, backup your current device before doing any OS adjustments, upgrades or reloads.

And, always at your own risk (of course, you've got 150,000+ members here to back you up if you need assistance).

Good luck!

Thanks, I think that I will go for it. Before I saw this post I was wondering how to get rid of applications such as push to talk, which as I'm sure you are aware, AT&T wants even more money for me to use.

I followed the directions (which were great, by the way) and everything is working well. I just have one question. When removing the pre-installed wallpapers, are these the pre-installed pictures? I removed net_rim_bb_media_240x260_b.cod and the pictures and different folder icons are still there. I tried removing my battery to reset my pearl to see if that would work, with no luck. Any suggestions, or am I looking in the wrong area?

I saw a bunch of files that i'm unsure about...can anyone tell me if i need them or I can delete?

net_rim_bb_medialoader_video_83xx_320x240.cod (largest file 2.5mb)
net_rim_cldc.cod
net_rim_tid_dynamic_ling_data_german_35k_2.cod (got a bunch of these for difference languages...)

You can choose not to install those in Application Loader. There's no need to delete them from the java folder.

DO NOT DELETE cldc.cod

Yay!
 

Thanx JC,

I've been wondering on how to get my OS on the computer and freeing up those locked wallpapers and PTT. Doing that gave me 10Mbs free memory! Totaling 28MB free now. AWESOME!!(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

As simple and easy to follow as John's instructions are it's way more complicated and difficult sounding/reading then the process actually was :razz:

I started off with ~19 megs free.

First I opened the media application and changed "reserved pictures memory" to 0M and freed up ~1+meg.

Next under settings/advanced/applications I deleted the sample video for another ~2+ megs.

Now I had around 23megs free.

I already had Desktop manager installed so I installed the OS to the Desktop Manager per John's instructions. (Didn't do the OS install at first and spent about 15 minutes wasting my time looking around the DM software not finding what I needed). After loading the OS it was as simple as unchecking all of the extra languages and removing Bb Maps and after all was said and done I now have 35+ megs free, with Pipes, Google Maps,Opera Mini, BBWeather, Berry411, uNyverse, and a 400k Theme installed. I'm thinking I should alsp delete the Help application too but I'm happy with my free space so far.

I this the verizon theme? can someone post the .cod file to install this theme also on a Italian 8100 TIM Brand? The file should be something like "net_rim_theme_100_240x260_b.cod"

Can someone help?

Many thanks,
alex

Delete the Help app. I haven't loaded it on my device in several years.

I haven't deleted the help app yet, since I'm still fairly new to the device. I've had Unyverse installed for a while, and while it isn't quite finished yet, I find my self using it more than Memo Pad for notes, so Memo Pad may get the axe soon. And I may uninstall Viigo and just use the RSS reader in Unyverse as well. One nice thing about Unyverse is the ease with which you can clear out the cache, which also frees up space.

Great guide JC, BTW by deleting help on my 8320 how much memory will that free up

Just look in the java folder and see how big the help files are. Also, there is some amount of memory freed just because it's not loaded, as well.

Thanks for the guide, really appreciate it. I freed up 10 megs just deleting the pictures and themes, and a few other small things.

GREATLY appreciated!

Are either one of these .cod files,.. for the left side convenience button?? I moved these to do away with my PTT,.. and lost total function of it. I had changed it to lock the keyboard,.. but now it won't work.

No, those are only for PTT. Did you go back to Options >Screen/Keyboard and try reassigning the convenience keys?

Yeah,.. I've done everything I could thing of,... reassigned it to about 5 different things,... and nothing!! The only thing I moved was the above mentioned files and the At&t theme. I assigned to right side to a few different things,.. and it's fine.

Did you pull the battery to reset the device?

Great post.

John,

Great post. Very easy to read. Have a total of 32mb free. I already had a lot of this stuff gone but getting rid of PTT was great. I dont have many apps loaded and really just use it for a phone and email so getting rid of the crap is great.

Might want to tell people that they will have to do this everytime they install a new revision, or when 4.3 comes out this post will have 10 pages.

Either way great job.

(y) (y) :idea:

Problem with detecting the removed .COD files
 

Hello everyone,

For some reason, I've lost the link between my desktop manager and the Java folder. In other words, when I remove .cod files like themes or original loaded wallpapers from my Java folder and sync my device and start application loader, it does not detect the removed items and basically does nothing.

I've done this many time. I even removed the vendor.xml file. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Can I please get some feedback?

Thanks
J

make sure you're removing cod's from the proper java folder. The java folder should be in the folder matching the OS on your device.

make sure the vendor.xml is deleted (it installs with every OS/DM installation so you'll have to delete it every time you install something.

Make sure you're going all the way to the end of application loader. Nothing as far as removed .cod's will show up in the window with all the checkboxes. You have to hit next/finish to almost the end before it will tell you what it's removing.

For vendors who have more than one 3 digit code, do you have to replace all of them or just one of them?

What are you trying to do? Your device only has one vendor code. From the home screen hold the alt key and type e a c e to see what the vendor code is for your device.

Nice walk through, I'm impressed!!! Thanks!!
Just one question, can i remove ALL the help .cods or will that cause an issue?

Excellent post from John! However, it made my Sprint Pearl 8130 crash but I did find a quick solution and would like to share it. Really, follow John's directions but when you get to the part about removing the vendorID tag from blackberry.alx, do this instead:

Instead of removing the vendorID tag, add your vendorID to the entry already there. Use a pipe (|) to separate it from the existing entry.

For example: _vendorID="104|102"

This allows Sprint and ATT to use that particular theme. So I just went down the list and added Sprint to the themes I wanted. Now for the 8130, ** DO NOT ** add your vendorID to the T-Mobile themes as this makes it crash. I suspect it's the myFaves.cod that's the culprit. I guess you could edit out the myFaves.cod from the T-Mobile theme entry, but it's easier to just not put your vendorID there. Anyway, now that you've added your vendorID to the themes you want, only those themes will get installed when your run the App Loader. No need to move *.cod theme files into a 'removed modules' folder as John directs. However if there are other *.cod files you'd like to remove, use John's method. That's it! Pretty simple and thanks to JohnClark for discovering this in the first place.

Again, I only know this works for my Sprint Pearl 8130. BTW, I've got the red Pearl and the Vodaphone interfaces (red and green) go perfectly with it. Looks slick and pro-like, much better than Sprint's. Good luck! -daver

Awesome tutorial John! (y)

Did everything and it works great. Have 23mb of free from 16mb before. But does the restart always take forever? It stays on the white screen for quite a long time before it boots up to the AT&T.

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned but if you remove the BBdimension themes, themes won't work at all. It wont' allow you to set a theme. Just a note.

if I may suggest someting:
just remove apps directly from your blackberry

Options -> Advanced Options -> Applications ->
wait a sec for blackberry to index installed apps
press
menu -> Delete

to see modules required/used by app press trackball
This way if you plan to use DM for app removal, you will know that modules can be deleted.

also clear:
Event Log
Custom Dictionary (from unwanted entries or clear all)
Clear Theme cache (up to 500kb),
Theme cache will grow in time (no idea about limit imposed), so this may prevent from too many reboots

tweak media memory (between 2 - 7MB)

That may sound like a good idea, but the core apps on the BB can't be deleted directly from the BB.