Here is my positive upgrade story! :-)

I downloaded the A05 ROM using the link from a previous post in this board (thanks guys!). While it was downloading, I performed a backup, and then removed my SD card. Now, it was go time!

I took a deep breath and performed a hard reset. Once this was done, I opened the downloaded file and followed the on-screen instructions (the Aximsite tutorial also helped a lot!). I was asked if I wanted to copy my old ROM before continuing and I did, especially due to many negative results by many. Although times were said to be 15 minutes, it took all of 5 minutes! "Off to a good start" I thought! I then continued to the most important step: the actual update.

This was actually the most anti-climactic step. The install progresses rapidly and was done before I knew it! I finished up, and tried out the device. The results were nice: faster, smoother operation. However, the difference between old and new are not day and night... just enough to be worth it though!

Finally, I figured all I had left was to restore my data and start using my Ax again. I went to click the restore button and was greeted by an error message; the computer could not find my backup file. "Oh f**k" I thought... I've just lost EVERYTHING. After geeting my heart rate down below 220bmp again, I looked around my hard drive and finally found the file somewhere else. I copied it to the proper location, crossed my fingers, and tried to restore again. It worked! Everything is back to normal and the Ax runs great. SD card was re-inserted, necessary programs re-installed and that was it. The adventure is over!

Feel free to ask any questions! My setup is Ax Basic, w/ Win ME on desktop. Good luck!