I found a post about a newer, improved version of Ramdisk, compiled specifically for WinCE5.x. Anyone wants to be the guinea pig this time and try it on his/her iPaq 21x?
The advantages of using ramdisk are plenty. These are some that I can think of off the top of my head:
1) Performance. RAM access is faster than flash ROM access. Locating temporary files and cache information on the fastest-possible medium (RAM) makes the most sense.
2) Improve lifespan of flash ROM. Flash ROM devices have limited write cycles. Even though flash filesystems typically use wear-leveling algorithms to prevent repeatedly writing to the same blocks, constantly updating data on flash ROM will still take its toll.
3) Better use of resources. The iPaq 21x has 128MB of RAM. Unless you have multiple applications running at the same time, or you are running very memory-intensive applications, some of the RAM are not being used at all. Allocating some of that extra, unused RAM to a ramdisk makes better use of existing resources.
and another is moving temporary and clutter making files (IE cache specificially) will automatically clean up upon reset. There are plenty of apps that make use of that tip to free up ram.
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I managed to get it working on my iPaq 210 BTW. But not without modifying an EXE and renaming a DLL. Relocating IE and Opera cache to ramdisk REALLY speeds up web browsing a lot!
I managed to get it working on my iPaq 210 BTW. But not without modifying an EXE and renaming a DLL.
Can you elaborate what steps you took to get the ramdisk to work with the HP 210? Anything on top of the readme.txt? Also, is it possible to remove the ramdisk? From the instructions, it wasn't too clear. Thanks!
The iPaq 210 has an existing ramdisk.dll in \Windows stored in ROM. It cannot be deleted, moved or renamed. So I had to rename the new ramdisk.dll to ramdisc.dll. The ramdisk.exe uses methods that are exported from ramdisk.dll, so I had to change it to import from the (renamed) ramdisc.dll instead.
I have attached a zip file containing ramdisc.dll and ramdisk.exe. Just copy those 2 files into \Windows on the iPaq. The shortcut (lnk) files used to set the amount of RAM to allocate for ramdisk can be taken from the ZIP file from the original developer (AMV007).
This version of ramdisk is not persistent; it disappears after a soft-reset. So you will need to put one of the lnk files into your Startup folder to enable it after a soft-reset.
The readme.txt file describes what registry entries need to be modified to relocate your temp folder and IE cache folder to the ramdisk.
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I have attached a zip file containing ramdisc.dll and ramdisk.exe. Just copy those 2 files into \Windows on the iPaq. The shortcut (lnk) files used to set the amount of RAM to allocate for ramdisk can be taken from the ZIP file from the original developer (AMV007).
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Hello,
Thank you for your info and attached file.
After I installed the ramdisk.exe, ramdisc.dll and the lnk file, and soft reset it, system run and warning message displayed stating that ramdisc.dll cannot be activated and stopped.
Then I soft reset it and tried again. This time, system could not start up and screen on 'ipaq' logo. I hardware reset it and loaded back my backup.
Woohoonews, would you please see why this happened.
After I installed the ramdisk.exe, ramdisc.dll and the lnk file, and soft reset it, system run and warning message displayed stating that ramdisc.dll cannot be activated and stopped.
Then I soft reset it and tried again. This time, system could not start up and screen on 'ipaq' logo. I hardware reset it and loaded back my backup.
Woohoonews, would you please see why this happened.
Thanks.
Hi 4700fan,
Sorry to hear about the problems that you encountered. I had tested the files on both my iPaq 210 as well as on a WM6 Device Emulator and verified that both worked. Did you put the files inside \Windows folder on your iPaq 210? Do not put them on CF or SD. Also, did you execute the lnk file first before you soft-reset? If there is a problem with the DLL, you should have seen an error message when you first executed the lnk file.
I tried to replicate the problem on Device Emulator using the same files but I couldn't. And just to be sure: you are using it on an iPaq 210 or other WM6 device right?
Sorry to hear about the problems that you encountered. I had tested the files on both my iPaq 210 as well as on a WM6 Device Emulator and verified that both worked. Did you put the files inside \Windows folder on your iPaq 210? Do not put them on CF or SD. Also, did you execute the lnk file first before you soft-reset? If there is a problem with the DLL, you should have seen an error message when you first executed the lnk file.
I tried to replicate the problem on Device Emulator using the same files but I couldn't. And just to be sure: you are using it on an iPaq 210 or other WM6 device right?
Hello Woohoonews,
Yes, it is a iPaq 210 and the files were placed under the \Windows folder. I also attached the screen dump after I executed the lnk file.
HI all. thanks for the explanations. It helped.
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i was particularly interested in the write lifetime of the ROM. I don't surf, so my IE cache is 0 - but the extra speed does sound nice - esepcially if I will have some extra RAM to use. I suppose that when I get to the level of trying it, I may have some more specific questions
Although I have to say, it seems that you have to have a really high level of PDA/programming knowledge to use it correctly.
After I installed the ramdisk.exe, ramdisc.dll and the lnk file, and soft reset it, system run and warning message displayed stating that ramdisc.dll cannot be activated and stopped.
Then I soft reset it and tried again. This time, system could not start up and screen on 'ipaq' logo. I hardware reset it and loaded back my backup.
Woohoonews, would you please see why this happened.
Thanks.
Guess what, when I got my previous 214 hung on bootup was for a DLL error after wisbar installation. Looks like DLL errors are baaaad baaaad things. Back then I had no idea there was a method to hard reset without using ipaq setup assistant, so Ithgouth I was stuck. Lucky me I was going to send it back anyway for a couple of defective pixels. Now I have the manual hard reset procedure written down in a postit attached to the inside of the box :P
installing sbsh ilauncher will give you the ability to launch in safe mode, should something go wrong with extensions loaded at startup (possibly saving you from a hard reset).
before installing this, you should read the readme file and take some of the tips from above into consideration.
note that this install will be different for different devices
Yes, it is a iPaq 210 and the files were placed under the \Windows folder. I also attached the screen dump after I executed the lnk file.
Please see it again. Thanks
Hi 4700fan,
I noticed that you are using Traditional Chinese version of WM6. I do not have a CHT version of iPaq 21x to experiment with, so I tried on the Device Emulator with localized CHT WM6 image, and everything worked as expected. Either there are programs you installed on your iPaq that are conflicting with the ramdisk or the CHT version of iPaq 210 has some unique peculiarities. I guess the only way to find out would be to try the ramdisk on a clean iPaq just after hard-reset.
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