Just solved a little problem with the hx2495b that has been bugging me a bit for the past month or so and want to pass it on. This should be applicable to any PPC, not just the HP.
For some reason the box has been seeming a little bit unstable. Occasional failure to synchronize properly, occasional crash (hard lock) when using WMP and occasional out-of-memory exception being thrown by Word Mobile. There were also occasional times where alarms would not go off in the morning ... but it was intermittent. I was beginning to think that WM5 was just a bit unstable (compared with WM2003SE) so I was just going to "live with it".
Edit: (Come to think of it this was becoming more than occasional - the box was crashing on almost a daily basis).
On the way home a couple of nights ago I was thinking about what might be going on when it occurred to me that I had transferred the SD card I was using in my old Axim (a 3-year-old 128MB card) into the HP. I had not had any trouble with it so, why not, right? It was the only "old" component in the new box - since I had just bought a new 4GB CF card and installed it a month or so ago.
So ... I dropped into Wal-Mart and picked up an $18 replacement. (1GB) CF card to replace the old one. The machine has now been running for about 3 days without a single "burp". No more out-of-memory issues in Word and the box just seems to run a bit snappier. I'm guessing that the old card was just on the edge. I won't go into a detailed hardware explanation of what might have been going wrong.
The lesson is, I think, to watch it when buying a new machine. Don't take components from the old box and put them in the new one - particularly if said components are that old. (In this case 3-years). If you find that you must do this, keep in mind that if you have stability problems that the old component may be causing the trouble and swap it out before you grind your gears installing and un-installing software trying to sort it out!
Glad that's all it was, too ... I just spent a pretty penny on this HP and was becoming worried that it wasn't going to be stable. Now it appears to be just as stable as the Axim was.
-CB :D
Last edited by CodeBubba; 02-07-08 at 10:27 AM.
The Following User Says Thank You to CodeBubba For This Useful Post:
I wonder; I think I might give this a go! Thanks for the heads up CB :approve:
No problem, Jogga.
No kidding ... the HP is very stable right now. I've been loading and unloading applications (including WM11), quick-switching between them, etc. and I can no longer cause it to crash. Word documents load incredibly fast (there was a lot of pausing - the box was really seeming to be slow), I no longer see the delay and "out-of-memory" errors. I really think it was that card. It has that solid fast feel that it should now. Very responsive. I didn't realize how bad it had gotten until it stopped.
Not only that but it's not having trouble powering-up now. It was getting to the point where I would hit the power switch and wait for 5 seconds for it to power up - sometimes I had to hit the power twice. I thought that it might have been a slightly flaky power switch but now it comes up within a second of hitting the switch - every time.
That card must have been shorting something on the I/O bus. Definitely some kind of electrical problem. I wonder if that's what killed my Axim - or if the Axim is what fried that card?
Either way I now think I've finally got the box I paid for. I was really beginning to wonder.
-CB :D
>Edit: Nuts ... the box did crash again today - but only after really hammering it. Still some kind of bug in WMP11 I think. However I haven't seen any of the other bad behavior yet. It's at-least improved greatly if not completely fixed.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
Posts: 6,247
Device: htc Touch 3G
Carrier: Orange
Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post
Well CB, I've managed to stabilize my iPAQ too! :)
My cure was simple but expensive: I simply turned off the Credant security software and put a normal alphanumeric password on my machine (that was the simple bit). Then I spent a whole bunch of money on SecuBox so that I could encrypt some personal files (that was the expensive bit).
The good news is that the iPAQ is running like a dream, not a single crash in the last twenty-four hours and it syncs every time it's connected to the PC (not every third time).
The bad news is that I really liked the biometric protection and embedded encryption. Nonetheless, I prefer having a machine that I don't have to soft-reset three times a day. :)
Well CB, I've managed to stabilize my iPAQ too! :)
My cure was simple but expensive: I simply turned off the Credant security software and put a normal alphanumeric password on my machine (that was the simple bit). Then I spent a whole bunch of money on SecuBox so that I could encrypt some personal files (that was the expensive bit).
The good news is that the iPAQ is running like a dream, not a single crash in the last twenty-four hours and it syncs every time it's connected to the PC (not every third time).
The bad news is that I really liked the biometric protection and embedded encryption. Nonetheless, I prefer having a machine that I don't have to soft-reset three times a day. :)
Hey Jogga,
Glad to hear that you sorted it out. Too bad the biometric reader was the cause of it - but at least you figured it out. I considered getting that model for a short time but having worked with biometrics I know that they can be tempermental. I also don't think it's necessary on a personal device - particularly since a good strong password can really secure the box nicely. I keep a really close watch on my "tricorder" anyway; if it's with me I don't leave it in the car, it goes WITH me if it isn't on my desk at the house or the office. I've got too much information crammed into this little box to leave it around.
Mine does seem to be very stable now. I had that one crash a day or two ago but I think I know what it might be (and it hasn't happened since). When I powered it up (it had been sitting on my desk for 3 hours or so) it took a few seconds longer to come on than before - and I immediately tried to open a media file which is stored on CF. That's when the crash happened.
What I think it is - is that the box probably puts the expansion cards to "sleep" if it sits for a long time. Then when it powers up it takes a few seconds for it to revive the cards - the processor probably has to strobe them and establish some kind of status on them. My bet is that I simply asked too much of it by trying to load a file directory before the device was "ready". Yeah it's a bug in the O/S - should not lock up ever; but once I figured that out I simply decided to just wait a few seconds after powering the box up before really doing much on it. Since then (and replacing the bad SD card) it has been very stable.
We tend to expect an awful lot out of this hardware and it really does do a "yeomann's" job considering the complexity of the software.
At any rate I think the box is all set now so I'm just planning to use it for a few years now. I've had enough with upgrades for the time being.
I've changed my old 512k SD Card into a 2GB with just one FAT format.
Then I did a copy of 200+ small files as a test.
The time went from over 4 minutes down to just about 30 seconds !
In my opinion, old technology can work with new technology. My old 64MB SD card from ages ago works well without issues. The same is also true with all SD cards. CF cards from 8 years ago 512MB for $80 works out still on computer and what not. It also works on my HPC. The HPC also supports 2GB CF cards without issues as well. So old can work. I'm guessing the iPaq doesn't like old cards.
__________________
Use Modern Device +100 :approve:
Technological Logic +50 :approve:
Troubleshoot +50:approve:
Using D&D Logic in the Real World, Priceless
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
In my opinion, old technology can work with new technology. My old 64MB SD card from ages ago works well without issues. The same is also true with all SD cards. CF cards from 8 years ago 512MB for $80 works out still on computer and what not. It also works on my HPC. The HPC also supports 2GB CF cards without issues as well. So old can work. I'm guessing the iPaq doesn't like old cards.
If you'll notice I was pointing out a potential failure point. I didn't say you "could not" use old hardware. Please re-read the thread for context.
I've changed my old 512k SD Card into a 2GB with just one FAT format.
Then I did a copy of 200+ small files as a test.
The time went from over 4 minutes down to just about 30 seconds !
yep flash memory does have a limit on how many times it can be written to. older cards have older technology so the limits are less. plus these suckers do fail from time to time..... what doesnt? hey CB did you try to reformat the old card to see if it improves? but i suppose whats the point? these cards are so much cheaper nowadays.. and 128 Mb i think i put an old one of those in my 5 year olds digital camera... lol.(old fixed lens HP job i got free from work..)
__________________
... here are a few of my favorite things.... Hx4700 WM6.1 , AcerAspire One A150 , Canon 30D DSLR . . . .new GF not necessarily in this order.....
yep flash memory does have a limit on how many times it can be written to. older cards have older technology so the limits are less. plus these suckers do fail from time to time..... what doesnt? hey CB did you try to reformat the old card to see if it improves? but i suppose whats the point? these cards are so much cheaper nowadays.. and 128 Mb i think i put an old one of those in my 5 year olds digital camera... lol.(old fixed lens HP job i got free from work..)
Hey Spud,
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did reformat it. I usually do when I make a change like that. Still, yer right, the things have become so cheap now that it made sense to replace that 3-year-old 128MB with a 1GB anyway. Cost me all of 20-bucks for the additional storage. The machine has it and a 4GB CF card in there now which is plenty of space for my needs.
about a year ago or maybe more, i bought a 2 gig sandisk SD card from ebay..to cut a long story short it was $60AUD shipped. when it arrived in the post i actually had 2 packages. the silly buggers sent me 2 cards!!! so i got 2 2gig and a 4gig seagate hdd in my 4700 .music on 1 SD and movies and pics on the other.. everything else on the hdd.. works like a charm.......
__________________
... here are a few of my favorite things.... Hx4700 WM6.1 , AcerAspire One A150 , Canon 30D DSLR . . . .new GF not necessarily in this order.....
If you'll notice I was pointing out a potential failure point. I didn't say you "could not" use old hardware. Please re-read the thread for context.
-CB
Oh I see. Well cards do have limits. Luckily I haven't reached it yet, except for one 4GB card.
__________________
Use Modern Device +100 :approve:
Technological Logic +50 :approve:
Troubleshoot +50:approve:
Using D&D Logic in the Real World, Priceless
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Oh I see. Well cards do have limits. Luckily I haven't reached it yet, except for one 4GB card.
Heh ... it's pretty amazing what constitutes a "limit" these days. I just put a 4GB card into my hx2495 and have crammed all my record albums onto it with about 1/4 of the space left over. Sheesh!
I've been writing code on these machines since 64K was considered "huge".
Follow Us
RSS Feed
Follow on Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
