Installing a custom rom
From Attie's Wiki
Because everyone seems to be so angry, I've decided to take some notes as I figure my way through the process.
I have a generic (unbranded) HTC Desire HD, and I want to put the Blackout ICS ROM on it.
Step 1 - Unlock the bootloader
Unlock your phone's bootloader. To achieve this, head over to htcdev.com. They have really good step-by-step instructions, and it was a breeze.
Step 2 - Get a Goldcard
The mystical term 'goldcard' refers to an SD card, whose MBR contains a magic value. To achieve this, you will need to download and install "GoldCard Helper" (I got it from the market), and put the 'mmc2 reverse CID' into this webpage: http://psas.revskills.de/goldcard