hoagieslapper

I am considering purchasing an Axim 400 in the near future. I was hoping that I could get a couple questions answered for me.

Could someone explain to me the difference between the 64MB of SDRAM and 48MB of StrataFlash ROM memory? Is the ROM used to store the OS and the SDRAM used for data? Is it shared memory or is it 112MB of memory total?

Also, has anyone had any experience hooking an Orinoco 802.11b PCMCI card to an Axim? I install and support wireless internet access for an ISP and I would like to be able to use my Axim for our site surveys. I know I can use Dells 802.11b adapter, but it does not appear to have the right kind of connector to plug into our antennas. (the reason for this is after working on wireless for a while, the only true test is to use the same card/antennae combo as being installed) Would I be able to get dB readings from the card?

Any help would be much apreciated.

Thank you,
Tom

kosstamogen

Well to the best of my understanding the 64mb of sdram is shared between storage and actual memory, there's a little bar that lets you allocate more or less to each side, although it's only temporary (I believe).
From what I've seen the 48mb is more for the OS. Since it's larger than the 32mb from the 300mhz people say it's better for future upgrades to the OS.

I think if you want to use a PCMCIA/pc-card in the dell I've seen some places that sell compactflash typeII slot to PCMCIA converters. Some people have posted links on this board but i can't remember where (sorry). Be aware though that it looks weird and sticks out a lot from the top of the device. Maybe someone who has experiencing using the converter/adapter will reply... good luck

you could also wait for those new x-scale processors coming out which is supposed to put all of ours to shame

Fritz

Try this convertor for your PC-WiFi.

Cheers.

__________________
"To be, or not to be is true." -- Boole

JakeRich

The Dell 400 64 Megabytes of memory is divided into two areas - Main and Program. Main is used to hold files, data, stored programs. It's basically the equivalent of a hard drive in the PC. Program is the area where running programs reside while actually running. It's like the RAM memory on your PC. It's where all the operations take place.

The ROM is kinda funny. It's non-writeable (with some exceptions) and is where the operating system sits. The rough equivalent on your hard drive is the /Windows folder. It's ROM because you need it to not be erased if the battery dies or you do a hard reset. It's always going to be there.

Now one of the exceptions is that part of ROM is not used by the O/S yet. So Dell has provided a way for you to store stuff there. It's called Built-in Storage. One of these days, Microsoft may release a new version of the software, and if Dell issues an update, they provide a program (that's the other exception) to overwrite the otherwise non-writeable portion with the new o/s and there may or may not be any room left for the Built-in.

For your use you get 64 Meg plus about 21 meg in Built in Storage to use. The 64 is roughly divided in half by the O/s as it needs more or less program space. But be advised that as you consume that 64 Meg the machine gets slower and slower as it has to shuffle all that data around to keep running (think of a hard drive that gets full and how the heads clatter as they juggle to make room). It's much better to put the files/data/non-running programs on the removable media (SD Card/CF Card) and keep as much of the 64 internal memory free as you can.