Encarta Dictionary Lock up in Reader

amdinside · 12-18-04, 06:45 PM

I installed and activated Microsoft Reader ok. I have some books that load ok. When I load Encarta dictionary, the front screen comes up and then when anything is tapped, it locks up. Sometimes it does go to the second screen but locks up after that. Langauge dictionaries do the same thing. Anyone else have this problem? Anyone know how to resolve it? I had this installed on my Ipaq and it worked flawlessly. I have uninstalled, redownloaded, resinstalled and activated the Reader and dictionry lit file with same results. Thanks for any help.

RWL · 12-20-04, 05:38 PM

I've got a new X50v with the same issues

amdinside · 01-07-05, 01:56 PM

Has anyone gotten the Encarta dictionary to work with the Microsoft Reader? I posted this on the Dell site and someone said they had this issue also. I am looking for a fix or at least what is to blame. This dictionary worked on my Ipaq so I wonder if it is my Dell but my Ipaq did not have windows mobile 2003. Of course then I have to wonder why it is offered on the Microsoft website if it is not compatable?

01-13-05, 01:15 PM

Ditto the problem on my X50v
Also forward and backward arrows are replaced with numbers.

shsmith · 01-13-05, 07:03 PM

Originally Posted by Tim McLaughlin

Ditto the problem on my X50v
Also forward and backward arrows are replaced with numbers.

I was able to fix that by moving the *.ttf files from where you installed reader into the \windows\fonts folder.

Unfortunately, I have the same problem with various books locking up on the title/author page. I found that you can sometimes get past that by clicking the down button.

I sure wish microsoft would fix this... I used reader without any problems at all on my previous wm2003 PC. Kind of sucks since one of the main reasons I bought the x50v was to have a nice clear screen for reading books...

Gigi · 01-13-05, 07:10 PM

Apparently, Encarta does not work with the X50:

http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showt...hlight=encarta

amdinside · 01-14-05, 04:12 PM

I have more information on the Encarta dictionary issue. I contacted Microsoft and they have been working with me. They were able to run the dictionary ok. I have a friend who has an X30 and Encarta works fine on his unit. The only difference is the build # of Windows. His is 14049 and mine is 142260.2.0.5. I believe this puts the problem squarely on the Dell X50V.
** I have found a workaround that allows the Encarta dictionary to work**
Open another book in Reader
Tap on a word and a menu will appear
Tap lookup at the bottom
A window will pop up with the definition
You can now change the word at the top and tap return and it will look up the new word.
I have tried this numerous times and it has worked each time.

shsmith · 01-14-05, 11:05 PM

All of the problems with Microsoft Reader have to do with the pixel-doubling emulation in wm2003se on a VGA device like the x50v.

If you unzip the attached msreader.0409.mui file in the same directory as msreader.exe, it tells wm2003se to bypass the pixel-doubling emulation.

The result is no more lockups, encarta works perfectly, and everything looks better.

drum4ever · 01-14-05, 11:40 PM

tried it and it didn't work. Does it need a soft reset after putting the file in the reader folder?

shsmith · 01-15-05, 09:10 AM

Originally Posted by drum4ever

tried it and it didn't work. Does it need a soft reset after putting the file in the reader folder?

This file may only work with a specific version of Reader. The one I have is Version 2.3 (Build 4182) according to the last page of the settings.

Here are the steps I followed to get mine working:

1) I installed Reader to Built-In Storage
It didn't work at all at first because the launch shortcut still pointed back to \windows\msreader.exe.

2) Using activesync I dragged a shortcut from \Built-In Storage\Microsoft Reader\MsReader.exe to the start menu.
Now it launches, but the page navigation has funny numbers instead of the arrows.

3) I fixed he navigation arrows by moving the *.ttf files from \Built-In Storage\Microsoft Reader to \Windows.

4) I Installed the trial of Tweaks2k2 and used the "Brute Force VGA" command on \Built-In Storage\Microsoft Reader\MsReader.exe. This is what made the MsReader.exe.0409.MUI file I posted earlier.
At this point my Reader started working perfectly.

I was never able to "activate" Reader (It says I need a newer version of Windows Mobile!). I don't have a fix for that, but fortunately none of my .LIT files have DRM.

amdinside · 01-17-05, 06:57 PM

Shsmith, I copied your file into the windows directory where I have Reader and it did not work for me either. You are right though that the issue is a VGA one. The Encarta dictionary works great if I use SE_VGA to put my PDA into VGA mode.

shsmith · 01-18-05, 07:18 AM

Originally Posted by amdinside

Shsmith, I copied your file into the windows directory where I have Reader and it did not work for me either. You are right though that the issue is a VGA one. The Encarta dictionary works great if I use SE_VGA to put my PDA into VGA mode.

I wonder if Tweaks2k2.net did something more than just create the .MUI file when I applied the "VGA brute force" tweak to msreader.exe? Has anyone else tried this?

jcmcg · 01-21-05, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by shsmith

I wonder if Tweaks2k2.net did something more than just create the .MUI file when I applied the "VGA brute force" tweak to msreader.exe? Has anyone else tried this?

I was also able to solve the problem using "VGA Brute Force", but I didn't try to determine how many things Tweaks2k2 changed.
Now I can start trying to move the reader out of main memory.
I haven't been able to activate either, but I'm not planning to buy any books soon.

01-21-05, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by shsmith

I wonder if Tweaks2k2.net did something more than just create the .MUI file when I applied the "VGA brute force" tweak to msreader.exe? Has anyone else tried this?

In this specific case, Tweaks2K2 did not do anything else than to create the .mui file with the right file name and the right language code.

doorkeeper · 01-21-05, 10:59 PM

For whatever reason, I can't seem to prevent MS Reader from installing into the SD card, I uninstall it and try again, even stipulated main memory, I even remove removed the SD card to install, but it still wants to go there. How do I prevent this. It will not show up in the program menu.