Dell Tech Support re 2003 Slowdown

crazyp · 07-10-03, 01:07 PM

Hi all.

Thought I'd post this as a new thread since there seem to be so many separate ones.

As you may or may not know, I ordered an Axim on 23 June 03, and I received it with the OLD 2002 OS (even though I ordered ppc2003). However, the D Pad was broken and I got a replacement ppc2003 OS model - I can thus compare directly (I still have both - the other has not been picked up yet).

I got offf the phone to Dell Tech Support today and:

1) They are aware of the problem and acknowledge it *IS* a problem

2) As far as they are aware, ALL newly shipped Axims are affected (so posts from users saying that their new Axims are "lightning fast" are surprising.)

3) They are URGENTLY working on a fix "he said they were pressurising their technical support team" :) . The tech support rep said that a fix should be available by fri next week .

4) No info about old axims that have been upgraded is available -I guess this is because no CDs have been shipped yet. No info about whether the new CDs would ship fixed or not - he didn't know.

This is ALL the info that I got. I cannot vouch for its reliability or truthfulness - draw your own conclusions and please don't base any plans on this info (disclaimer over :) ...)

Crazyp

07-10-03, 01:13 PM

I got basically the same info when I called tech support today. So I guess there is hope :).

Jer · 07-10-03, 01:20 PM

What do you mean by slow down. Are you referring to the 15 second soft reset delay? Please clarify.

07-10-03, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jer
What do you mean by slow down. Are you referring to the 15 second soft reset delay? Please clarify.

The delay with the soft reset is not a big deal, to me anyway. Apps take longer to launch, some apps run slower.

crazyp · 07-10-03, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jer
What do you mean by slow down. Are you referring to the 15 second soft reset delay? Please clarify.

Err I`m referring to the general overall rubbish performance of PPC2003 that everyone seems to be talking about in the other threads, including:

Long time taken to power on/boot (inc soft reset delay)
Long delay for start menu to appear
Poor media player performace (dropping frames, slow playback)
Poor/slow performance of other programs (MS Reader, GPS programs)
More frequent hangs/crashes

There is plenty more but you can have a look at the other threads re PPC 2003 poor performance. Surely you can't have missed this - it seems to be the `hot topic` at the moment :)

Crazyp

07-10-03, 01:36 PM

Thanks for the info crazyp. It is very encouraging to hear that Dell Support acknowledges that there is a problem and that a fix is actively being worked on.

I have to wonder why these production units perform so differently than those that were reviewed?

Repo · 07-10-03, 01:43 PM

Thanks for the post; it saves me trying to ring them up tomorrow.

My WM2003 Axim is completely unusable IMHO & if there's no patch in the next two weeks then I'll be considering sending it back under the 30 day thingy.

Shame because I move from an iPaq to an Axim & I really really don't want to go back again!

07-10-03, 02:27 PM

i noticed that under the config screen new axims aren't shipping until july 18--next friday. hopefully its cuz theyre working on the fix.

red-i · 07-10-03, 02:28 PM

great news. they're in such a good position with the PDA market right now, they won't mess this up. i'm sure it'll get resolved. now is so crucial since the o/s is just coming out. .if they fix this by next week they can minimize the damage it's causing.

I can tell you one thing, I don't envy any dell tech working on wm2003 right now, that's for sure!

Superguy · 07-10-03, 06:30 PM

Sounds like you guys got a good tech. I called them today and they refused to acknowledge there was a problem with the Axim and WM2003. They just blamed it on memory.

Weird when nothing is in there that it can be the memory's fault.

We'll see what happens by next Friday. I'm giving them till the end of the month for this fiasco to get straightened out. If not, it's time for an iPaq.

Howard2k · 07-10-03, 08:23 PM

And now if Stinksys would get THEIR act together and update their drivers...

shanek · 07-10-03, 08:59 PM

My only hope is that they take their time (well, not take forever, but you know what I mean!) to release this patch ... so that we don't get a 'buggy, rushed patch'.
<Cut>
<Take two!>
I can't wait to try Windows Mobile 2003 (for the second time around!) Hehehe ...

**Chris Leckness** · 07-10-03, 09:39 PM

My 2 cents, mine was lightning fast until I loaded all my usable software on it. I do believe the problem lies with the software rather than the os. As a test, I ran a couple aps on my 300 w/ 2002. Superfast. I ran the same apps on the 400 w/2003 before and after a hard reset and there is a noticable difference. So start clean and load only the one ap, and it is a good deal faster, but when I start loading it up.... boom... slow down

07-10-03, 09:54 PM

we'll see if we get a fix friday.. I dont see the moderator in dell community service confirming this

Superguy · 07-10-03, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AximSiteAdmin
My 2 cents, mine was lightning fast until I loaded all my usable software on it. I do believe the problem lies with the software rather than the os. As a test, I ran a couple aps on my 300 w/ 2002. Superfast. I ran the same apps on the 400 w/2003 before and after a hard reset and there is a noticable difference. So start clean and load only the one ap, and it is a good deal faster, but when I start loading it up.... boom... slow down

At least for me, though, mine was slow from the beginning with nothing on it. Tried an eBook today for the first time ... good hell that was slow.