nomar05

I’m looking for a little advice from someone who prefers to install applications on CD *AND* CF cards whenever possible. I currently have a 128MB SD Card and I'm trying to determine where to put my various applications once I get some extra storage (i.e. 512 MB CF Card). I'm thinking of moving a lot of my non-core applications from RAM to my 128MB SD Card (which is always plugged in) and use the CF Card strictly for entertainment type files (e.g. games, music, photos, video).

Does the following architecture make sense?

* * *RAM Storage (core programs that work closely with the OS)* * *
C. Ghisler & Co. Total Commander
D-Link Air DCF-660W wi-fi driver
Omega One Battery Pack 2003
WebIS Pocket Informant 4
Windows Theme Switch Today

* * *Built-in Storage (semi-core programs that are pretty stable)* * *
AltTab
CNetX Flash Format
Dell Enable center navigator button
Microsoft IE Tools
Revolutionary Software Front Lextionary
Zimmermann Pocket Hosts

* * *128MB SD Card (always in)* * *
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Fann Software ConverterCE
IAA_CEWindows.net RegKing2002
Jetech.org PocketNester
Jonathan Sachs Ephemeris
Macromedia Flash Player
Microsoft Pocket Streets 2002
Missile Command
mov Software imov Messenger™
MpegTV PocketTV
Orbworks PocketC
Oz Creations Squish
PockeTop Inc. Driver
Resco Picture Viewer
Trilliansoft PocketTweak
Two Peaks FlexWallet
VOS ShoppingList
WinamPAQ
+ a few ogg files for when my CF is out

* * *512MB CF Card (interchanged with wi-fi card as needed)* * *
Arn Cota Yahtz
CEcraft iGolf2
Game On Lemonade
Hexacto Tennis
Lang Software. ChessGenius 1.3
MachineTalk BGLightCE
Peter's Casino
Pocketcasinos.com Black Jack
ZIO Simcity 2000
+ multimedia data files (ogg, mpeg, ebooks, etc.)

Do you see any potential problems with how I placed the various applications in the 4 buckets?
For instance, can anyone comment on how WinamPAQ and PocketTV might perform running from a SD Card to play files on a CF Card?

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SanDisk 128MB SD
SimpleTech 1GB CF
D-Link DCF-660W CF
DSI Holster Case (contest winner)

edbro

I am curious as to why you need PocketTV when you also have Resco Picture Viewer. Picture Viewer plays .mpgs pretty well on my PDA.

NMkiD

I have yet to purposly install any app in my built in memory, every app I install I install it to my SD card, the only time something goes into the ram is if it needs to be in the \windows directory or something, I just use my CF for storage of large games, music, movies, etc. I have never had any problems installing apps or games to the memory cards, and I cannot tell is there is speed issues, etc, but it dosent seem like it.

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commoved

Looks OK here. Make sure you keep PI in RAM - otherwise it won't be able to wake up the Ax.

Running apps from SD or CF should make little difference because they don't run from the card. They load to RAM, then run. Only the Built-in Storage is execute-in-place. The SD card is a serial access device. I don't understand why the CF doesn't support execute-in-place. I suppose it somehow made something cheaper (like the memory management logic).

Be careful loading things into built-in storage. Charged battery - AC adaptor plugged in - no appointments coming up - nothing else running (soft reset). If something burps when loading to a memory card, you can just reformat it. If something burps when loading to built-in storeage, it's tough luck. (Until Dell offers a Flash OS upgrade). Maybe you just want to put Lectionary there, as the other programs aren't that big and you don't gain that much????

I was wondering why you're bothering with Flash Format. I went to a computer show this W/E and picked up a 6-in-1 reader. It seems like I can format my cards on the PC, and have plenty of choices for format. (I run WIN 2K on 2 PCs and WIN XP on two others.) It can load files faster (although not when installing programs), and I get a removeable disk drive to boot. Is there an advantage to formatting memory cards on the Ax?

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The world may not be perfect yet, but the Axim is (almost).

nomar05

edbro - Thanks for pointing that out. I havnt tried running mpegs on Resco Picture Viewer. I dont use my Ax much for video yet.

NMkiD - Thanks for the feedback.

commoved - I agree you shouldn't mess around with the built-in more than you need to. Everything I listed under Built-in Storage is already safely there and will remain there after I hard reset. The one program I do plan to remove from built-in and move to CD is Adobe Acrobat Reader which is a bit of a space hog.

As far as Flash Format goes ... I dont have a card reader. I dont really see the need for one when I can transfer files to my card VERY fast via wi-fi. Though I havnt used it yet, Flash Format lets you choosed between FAT16 and FAT32 & has a whole bunch of cluster size options for each when formatting. You can also use Flash Format to perform integrity checks & repair allocation errors. There is also an AutoRun feature you can activate (without reformatting), so that your MP3 playlists, eBooks, PhotoAlbums or other software can be automatically started at card insertion.

My SD card came from the factory with FAT16 and cluster size of 16KB. I havnt changed it becase I bought my SD Card long before Flash Format. Any suggestions on the optimum FAT type and cluster size for a 512MB CF Card?

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SanDisk 128MB SD
SimpleTech 1GB CF
D-Link DCF-660W CF
DSI Holster Case (contest winner)