Roughly some days after CyanogenMod 7 RC1 hit the Incredible S handsets, yet another HTC phone has gotten the CM7’s blessings. This time it’s HTC Desire, one of the most popular outings HTC’s name has ever adorned. The CyanogenMod 7.1 RC1 brings some great features like notification bar swiping to change brightness (yeah, like Samsung’s TouchWiz custom UI), and much more — get the full list of new features in CM7 RC1 here and tell us also the features you think are greatest from the whole bunch of around 25 additions!

Warning: Warranty may be void of your device if you follow the procedures given on this page. You only are responsible for your device. We won�t be liable if any damage occurs to your device and/or its components.

But in case you still have the HTC Desire serving you, why not download and install the CM7 RC1 on your Desire and check it out live. Download Links and Instructions below:

Instructions:

  1. Root your HTC Desire and Install ClockworkMod recovery. It’s easy, just search the internet, thousands of tutorials have already been made on this. If you’re still unable to do this, let us know in comments we’ll provide you with links and tips.
  2. Download the CM7.1 RC1 ROM — update-cm-7.1.0-RC1-Desire-signed.zip. Do not Extract it.
  3. Also, download the Google Apps addon pack — gapps-gb-20110613-signed.zip — because without it you won’t have even the android market. It’s a must install unless you’ve back up of all Google apps you would want to install or have means to install. Don’t extract it too.
  4. Connect HTC Desire to PC and mount the sd card.
  5. Transfer the CM7 ROM (file from step 2) and Google apps addon (file from step 3) to phone’s sd card in a location that you easily remember.
  6. Download the Quick Reboot free app from the Android market. open it and tap on recovery. This will boot the phone in recovery mode. Use Volume keys to scroll up and down and power key to select an option. If power key gives you blank screen, tap it again to come back at recovery. It means your selection key is not power key, but it’s the scroll key — the middle of the 5 keys on desire at the front bottom. Press the scroll key to select an option in recovery.
  7. If you want to have backup of your current ROM, do it now. it’s not required for CM7.1 RC1 installation but it’s good to have a backup so that you can restore to pre-flashing time without any trouble:
    1. In the recovery, go to “backup and restore”
    2. Select ‘backup’. This will backup your current ROM with all apps and data. When you want to restore back, simply use the restore feature.
    3. Select Go back to come to recovery main menu.
  8. Do a ‘Factory Reset’ now (this will delete all your apps all data; that’s why a backup is recommended before flashing a ROM):
    1. In the recovery, select ‘wipe data/factory reset’
    2. On next screen, select ‘Yes — delete all user data’
    3. Wipe Cache too. Select ‘wipe cache partition’ on the recovery’s main screen and then select ‘Yes – Wipe Cache’ on next screen
    4. You’ll be back at main screen now. DO NOT reboot phone! Follow next step.
  9. Installing the CyanogenMod 7.1 RC1 ROM:
    1. Scroll to “Install zip from sd card”.
    2. On next screen, choose “select zip from sd card” and select the CM7 ROM file — update-cm-7.1.0-RC1-Desire-signed.zip — you transferred in step 5. Select ‘Yes’ on next screen.
    3. Once flashing is done, you’ll be back on recovery.  Follow next step to Install Google Apps too.
  10. Installing Google Apps addon:
    1. Scroll to “Install zip from sd card”.
    2. On next screen, choose “select zip from sd card” and select the CM7 ROM file — gapps-gb-20110613-signed.zip — you transferred in step 5. Select ‘Yes’ on next screen.
    3. Once flashing is done, you’ll be back on recovery.  Follow next step to Install Google Apps too.
  11. You’ll be back on main screen of recovery. Select “reboot system now” to restart the phone.
  12. Once the HTC Desire boots up, you’ll have CyanogenMod 7.1 RC1 running coolly on your phone. enjoy the themes and all the great new additions!
  13. (Optional) If you find this post useful, consider sharing it with others and that would be helping us grow, too.

Also, check out this official thread on great XDA Forums for more about it. Check out the link to know more about the CM7 HBOOT r2 and legacy Apps2SD but that;s pro stuff and you shouldn’t try it if you are not quite experienced in all this.