Axim Advance 128mb Upgrade - Page 2

05-09-03, 01:27 PM

How would this affect later ROM upgrades and the inevitable upgrade to Pocket PC 2003?

05-09-03, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sarin_j
To overcome the restriction in the OS, is there any patch that Dell can release, so that 300 MHz users can also take advantage of this upgrade ? IMHO, this is a good option, coz its likely to speedup the program execution and will also take care of storage problem for many users.

Not sure where you are going with this question, but this is a RAM upgrade, not a ROM upgrade. This doesn't affect the OS in anyway (other than a patch for the OS to see the new RAM).

05-09-03, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ParaAxim
How would this affect later ROM upgrades and the inevitable upgrade to Pocket PC 2003?

It really doesn't. They will have to come out with a new patch for the new OS to see the RAM, but there is not modification to the ROM.

I just can't see the need to spend $100 to get just 64 more megs of memory. I wish they offered 512, then it might be worth it to me. The extra 64 megs is too small to be worth anything to my uses. Oh well, I can only hope for more memory. :D

sarin_j · 05-09-03, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cageyjames
Not sure where you are going with this question, but this is a RAM upgrade, not a ROM upgrade. This doesn't affect the OS in anyway (other than a patch for the OS to see the new RAM).

This is what I wanted to know. In one of the post, its said that the reason why an upgrade cant be done on 300 MHz version is because the OS image has been hardcoded for a maximum conventional memory of 32MB. So the 128MB upgrade would be seen as 32MB conventional and 96MB as T2T Disk. Now since this is because of the hardcoding done in the OS, is there any way of a patch being released that would fix this problem or is it gonna the same way forever ?

05-09-03, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sarin_j
Now since this is because of the hardcoding done in the OS, is there any way of a patch being released that would fix this problem or is it gonna the same way forever ?

What it means is you are beholden to PPCTechs, but past experience says they will take care of you.

Timdjohn · 05-09-03, 04:01 PM

I think I would rather use the $100 for a 1 gig SD when ever they are released. I still have over 20 meg of program mem due to only loading programs that must be in the main memory and all others to the SD card

devhen · 05-09-03, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cageyjames
It really doesn't. They will have to come out with a new patch for the new OS to see the RAM, but there is not modification to the ROM.

It does in fact effect future ROM upgrades because it is a ROM mod, meaning the ROM has been modified. Doing a Dell ROM upgrade or PPC2003 upgrade would overwrite the ROM mod that PocketPCTechs applied and your 64MB internal memory card would be inaccessible.

However, PocketPCTechs are working on a utility that would help Axim users make the needed ROM changes after doing a Dell ROM upgrade.

So, yes, this IS a ROM modification but PocketPCTechs will provide a way that after upgrading the ROM you can re-apply the ROM mod and again access your extra 64 megs.

05-09-03, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by devhen

I don't consider a "patch" a ROM upgrade. As I said above....

Quote:

but this is a RAM upgrade, not a ROM upgrade. This doesn't affect the OS in anyway (other than a patch for the OS to see the new RAM).

devhen · 05-09-03, 07:03 PM

It is not a patch. It is a ROM upgrade and a proprietary driver.

As quoted by lwesson of PocketPCTechs:

Quote:

The upgrade does require a modification to the ROM and our proprietary driver.

devhen · 05-09-03, 07:06 PM

To clear this up, here is my conversation with lwesson of PocketPCTechs on the PocketPCPassion forums:

Quote:

Originally posted by devhen
One thing I wonder is, can the Axim's ROM still be updated with any ROM updates that Dell might release in the future or would that overwrite this ROM mod?

Quote:

Originally posted by lwesson
We are working on a utility that would make the modification to the new ROMs as they are released.

__________________
Leonard
PocketPCTechs.com TF: 888-301-2595
Home of the iPAQ 256MB Upgrade and WriteSHIELD™

In other words:

This IS a ROM modification. This ROM mod would be overwritten with Dell ROM upgrades or a PPC2003 upgrade. PocketPCTechs will provide a utility that will assist users in re-applying the ROM mod after doing an upgrade or installing a new OS.

And those are the facts. ;)

05-09-03, 07:39 PM

Unless they are physically messing with the ROM, which I doubt they are, I fail to see how this is a ROM upgrade. The fact they have to modify the BIOS does not mean they are messing physically with the ROM.

You get this Mod done. Dell updates to A04. You dont' have to send in the Axim to get updated. Therefore its not a upgrade to the ROM. The fact that you have to apply a patch after the fact to see your 128 megs doesn't mean they are messing with the ROM.

JmE · 05-10-03, 01:32 AM

I think the confusion might be related to the term ROM. Dell OS updates go into FlashROM. This memory is Read Only Memory until the flash is erased and the loader fills it with the new image. So, from what I see it is a FlashROM modification and a driver. (I mean a modification to the image in FlashROM, not the physical chip)

-JmE-

BTW: Hats off to the makers of this upgrade. It must have taken some real R&D. As an Axim user, I am glad you are making it available for Axims. This gives us just another nice option. Now if you can let me wash dishes, or soldering irons, etc for a day, maybe I can get the upgrade now. :D

aja8888 · 05-10-03, 02:02 AM

Hmmm, my 64MB is good enough and the CF and SD cards do the trick (128 MB & 256 MB, respectively). WHY spend $100 for additional internal memory (now, if it was an older Ipaq, maybe)

Hell, looking at my post above, my Ax has as much memory as my kick-ass desktop!

Tony

peterbright · 05-10-03, 09:34 AM

If I had a need for faster access to memory or needed more memory than I can load in SD & CF, this might make sense to me. However, I plan to wait until the next Axim is released and spend my money upgrading to it. A larger upgrade (to 256 MB or 512 MB) would be more useful to me.

05-10-03, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JmE
I think the confusion might be related to the term ROM. Dell OS updates go into FlashROM. This memory is Read Only Memory until the flash is erased and the loader fills it with the new image. So, from what I see it is a FlashROM modification and a driver. (I mean a modification to the image in FlashROM, not the physical chip)

Exactly, its like having to load your driver for the WiFi card after a Hard Reset. Your Axim will still work after a Hard Reset, it just won't see the extra RAM.