Need advice on replacing my PDA

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I looked at that site, but can't make head or tales from it... Is there a list of ROM's that is available for devices?

Go to the forum (look for the link near the top left of screen), then look for your device. The devices are listed with pictures and various names (since the same device is often sold under different brands). Then for each device you will find general sections, software, ROMs, accessories, etc.

If your device is not listed you can still try the overall general section which is way on top of the Forum.

Just like on mobileread I always skip the main page and go straight to the forum!

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Agreed. My solution to "battery dead" avoidance is to top of my device overnight.

Actually, my device should have a backup battery that kicks in when the main battery is dead or is being replaced (user replaceable battery!). Sadly, it doesn't work (apparently a common problem, might be dislodged, might be dead...) So, I have my docking station next to my bed and I'd put it on there before falling asleep...

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Go to the forum (look for the link near the top left of screen), then look for your device. The devices are listed with pictures and various names (since the same device is often sold under different brands). Then for each device you will find general sections, software, ROMs, accessories, etc.

If your device is not listed you can still try the overall general section which is way on top of the Forum.

Just like on mobileread I always skip the main page and go straight to the forum!

I found it, it's apparently the same as a HTC Bali, which is so different that they haven't been able to make a custom ROM for it

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by starrigger

I use Calibre for all my ebook management already. It's just that sometimes I wish I didn't have to make sure I had both an epub and a mobi version of everything I want to read, or might want to read. Agreed that it does a great job of converting books. But between the duplicate formats of all my ebooks, plus having both original files and the files Calibre puts into its library, my whole ebook library resembles Microsoft code: four times the actual size it needs to be.

It's probably possible to reduce the confusion, but I can relate. I keep all ebook related stuff under an ebooks directory on a drive, and there's about 18GB all told. That includes ebook related software, conversion projects and the like. Actual ebooks only take about 14GB.

I use an NTFS compressed directory, so actual space on disk is about a GB less that total file size.

Oh well, this is needless fiddling at this point. I won't even have the device for a couple more days. Then we'll see.

Keep us posted.

Your home networking solution is way more complicated than I'd want to put up with. The router I got with Verizon FIOS seems only to support WEP, so that's what I use.

My solution wasn't all that complicated, once I got it set up. It was coming up with the solution in teh first place that was the challenge.

What router did you get with Verizon? Personally, if my choice was WEP or no encryption, I might just choose "none", so I wouldn't be under the illusion of being secure. WEP is relatively trivial to crack.

In your position, it the Verizon router did only support WEP, I'd get a second router to actually handle my network, and connect it to the Verizon router. The Verizon router would be the interface to the outside world, but only the other router would connect to it.

I'm layered, here: a Linksys WRT54G connects to the cable modem connection. The model of WRT54G I have is an older one based on a Linux kernel, so the firmware is open source and various folks grabbed it nad hacked to fix bugs and add features. I run a third-party firmware package called Tomato.

I assign IP addresses to local devices from the router, and use MAC address filtering as well.

The Linksys has a hardware firewall which is enabled. The PCs also have software firewalls I left in place, because the laptop and notebook travel, and the software firewalls don't interfere with anything.

And I've tried to lock down access to the filesystems on the PCs in my network, so even if someone manages to get onto my net through my router, they can't access the devices on the net. All they can do is leech bandwidth.
______
Dennis

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I found it, it's apparently the same as a HTC Bali, which is so different that they haven't been able to make a custom ROM for it

Tough luck! But you still might find some usefull tips, tweaks, or free add-on software.

[magicmonster]

I keep a copy of the cab files I install in the built in storage and then a copy on either the sd or cf card. Remember when installing the cab files it will automatically delete the cab file. So I copy it into the main windows folder then double click on the cab file. This stops you from loosing your copy and you will always have a copy in case you need to do a hard boot. I have had to do that about 4 times since I got it. I got the first year that they came out.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by magicmonster

I keep a copy of the cab files I install in the built in storage and then a copy on either the sd or cf card. Remember when installing the cab files it will automatically delete the cab file. So I copy it into the main windows folder then double click on the cab file. This stops you from loosing your copy and you will always have a copy in case you need to do a hard boot. I have had to do that about 4 times since I got it. I got the first year that they came out.

Good idea. My new-to-me Axim X50V arrived yesterday, and I had a good time playing with it. I like it very much! (Although I agree with the CNET review that the control buttons are a little small.) I just let the desktop MobiReader install the PDA software, though I do have the cab files on hand in case I need them. I was pleased to see that I could run the latest version of Mobireader (which my old PDA could not). So now I have dictionary lookup, which I did not have before, and some other more refined features. And the VGA display really rocks! Thank you, everyone who sent me looking for a VGA-quality screen. I'm really glad I held out for that.

On the downside, I managed to brick it when I tried changing the battery. (It came with a spare.) I had to do a hard reset, which wiped everything I'd set up. (Not the books; they're on the SD card.) Fortunately, it only took a few minutes to restore all that, since mobi was the only thing I'd installed.

Still, that's making me think it might be worth the trouble of upgrading to WinMobile 6 with one of those images from the website mentioned above. All the reports I've read suggest that it's a more stable and robust OS than 2003.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by starrigger

Good idea. My new-to-me Axim X50V arrived yesterday, and I had a good time playing with it. I like it very much! (Although I agree with the CNET review that the control buttons are a little small.) I just let the desktop MobiReader install the PDA software, though I do have the cab files on hand in case I need them. I was pleased to see that I could run the latest version of Mobireader (which my old PDA could not). So now I have dictionary lookup, which I did not have before, and some other more refined features. And the VGA display really rocks! Thank you, everyone who sent me looking for a VGA-quality screen. I'm really glad I held out for that.

On the downside, I managed to brick it when I tried changing the battery. (It came with a spare.) I had to do a hard reset, which wiped everything I'd set up. (Not the books; they're on the SD card.) Fortunately, it only took a few minutes to restore all that, since mobi was the only thing I'd installed.

Still, that's making me think it might be worth the trouble of upgrading to WinMobile 6 with one of those images from the website mentioned above. All the reports I've read suggest that it's a more stable and robust OS than 2003.

It might be a good idea do get one of the comprehensive backup programs, like Sprite. You make a copy of everything, including your settings to your computer and/or SD card and if anything should ever happen you can restore your device 100% just by one click. That only works for the same ROM, however. If you ever reflash (even from a 6.0 to a 6.0 from a different ROM creator) it probably will not work. And yes, try to upgrade. But don't go for 6.5. 6.0 should be fine.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What I primarily dislike about Palm machines is the "Palm Desktop" software you need to use to add and remove files from the machine. With Windows Mobile, as you know, it's just "drag and drop" from Windows Explorer; far simpler.

What I specially liked about the Palm T5 (similar holds for TX) was that you did not need to use a stationary computer at all. You just surfed to a web server were you put put files to copy them. Or you just used SAMBA mounts.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by tompe

What I specially liked about the Palm T5 (similar holds for TX) was that you did not need to use a stationary computer at all. You just surfed to a web server were you put put files to copy them. Or you just used SAMBA mounts.

I can do that with my WinMobile device... No idea what a samba mount is btw... I doubt it's some kind of horse...

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I can do that with my WinMobile device... No idea what a samba mount is btw... I doubt it's some kind of horse...

Samba is open source software that implements the SMB protocol used by Microsoft networking, and allows *nix boxes to be peers and domain controllers on Windows networks.

I used it at a former employer to allow folks to access file systems on my Solaris servers as mounted shares on Windows, instead of using FTP to get files to and from the machine.

See http://www.samba.org/ for information.
______
Dennis

[Jack Tingle]

The best solution on the Dells for battery changes is to practice a bit and get quick at it. There's a BFC in the power circuit that gives you several _seconds_ to swap batteries. Danged generous of them, what? It's not a problem once you get used to it.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by Jack Tingle

The best solution on the Dells for battery changes is to practice a bit and get quick at it. There's a BFC in the power circuit that gives you several _seconds_ to swap batteries. Danged generous of them, what? It's not a problem once you get used to it.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

Well, they claim you have 30 minutes to 3 hours of backup time. Perhaps more in theory than in practice? (I assume by BFC, you mean the backup battery?)

I've now used the backup function on the Windows syncing software (successor to Activesync, I forget what it's called), which claims to back up everything you've installed. Whether it will restore again...

I hope it works better than the Windows Backup in Windows 7, which I've tried several times in an effort to make a disc image of my new laptop, but only gotten total lockups for my trouble.

[HansTWN]

There is a backup battery which should last 24 hours or so. But this one may be dead. Your device is probably around 5 years old. They stopped making them long ago, but they are great little machines.

With Windows Mobile Device Manager (the successor to ActiveSync in Vista and Windows 7) what is backed up is only your data. Not your settings and any additional programs you have installed. To totally restore your device after a mishap (including all you add-ons, tweaks, personal settings, etc) it is necessary to get a paid app like Sprite or Resco backup. With those you can restore your device to its last saved state right from the SD card or your computer just by clicking on the restore file. You can find some free backup programs on xda-dev and elsewhere, but they do not do a 100% restore.

The easier, and cheaper way would be to upgrade to 5.0 or higher. Then your device will not do a hard reset every time you lose a charge. Don't be afraid, it is easy and takes 20 minutes at most. Read the instructions and follow them EXACTLY. Turn off any radio (WIFI, bluetooth). If anything happens, just do it over.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

There is a backup battery which should last 24 hours or so. But this one may be dead. Your device is probably around 5 years old. They stopped making them long ago, but they are great little machines.

With Windows Mobile Device Manager (the successor to ActiveSync in Vista and Windows 7) what is backed up is only your data. Not your settings and any additional programs you have installed. To totally restore your device after a mishap (including all you add-ons, tweaks, personal settings, etc) it is necessary to get a paid app like Sprite or Resco backup. With those you can restore your device to its last saved state right from the SD card or your computer just by clicking on the restore file. You can find some free backup programs on xda-dev and elsewhere, but they do not do a 100% restore.

The easier, and cheaper way would be to upgrade to 5.0 or higher. Then your device will not do a hard reset every time you lose a charge. Don't be afraid, it is easy and takes 20 minutes at most. Read the instructions and follow them EXACTLY. Turn off any radio (WIFI, bluetooth). If anything happens, just do it over.

The system claims the backup battery is working normally. And re the Windows Mobile Device Manager, here's what it says is being backed up: "all the files, databases, personal information, RAM-based programs, and other information currently on your mobile device." I don't know any way short of doing a restore to see if that's accurate, though. (Of course, the next time I try a battery swap, I may get a chance. )

I'll probably do the upgrade, but it's a little low in the queue of things to do right now.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by starrigger

The system claims the backup battery is working normally. And re the Windows Mobile Device Manager, here's what it says is being backed up: "all the files, databases, personal information, RAM-based programs, and other information currently on your mobile device." I don't know any way short of doing a restore to see if that's accurate, though. (Of course, the next time I try a battery swap, I may get a chance. )

I'll probably do the upgrade, but it's a little low in the queue of things to do right now.

The backup battery may be "working" but just hold 1% of its original charge.

That above statement is accurate. But it does not include everything. Believe me, you will not lose your data by just backing up with WMDM to the desktop, but you will not get back your settings (examples would be adjustments you made to sound and backlights, font sizes, time zones, settings in various programs, new folders in main memory, etc). You will be reinstalling programs and re-tweaking your device. If you have not added much, perhaps the reader program only, it may only take a few minutes to do that.

Just giving you some advice on the upgrade, if you don't have time or don't want to do it, don't worry.