Just upgraded my x50v to WM 5 OS -- my initial review

Developer_PPC · 10-31-05, 04:36 PM

I received the Dell WM 5.0 OS upgrade for my x50V, and here are my initial comments:

First, the install was fairly straightforward and uneventful. After two hard-reboots, the system was up and running with the new ActiveSync 4.0 installed on my Desktop PC. I proceeded to reinstall all my applications into the standard FlashROM storage area, and sync my appointments, tasks, etc.

I then tried using my x50v as I normally do, accessing appointments, running applications, etc. I immediately encountered some noticable slowness in responsiveness for basic system operations (e.g., displaying the "Programs" screen, screen refreshing, running applications, etc). So, I set the Processor speed from "Auto" to the maximum setting, thinking that would help with speed up, but it still was slow in basic operation.

It was so slow, that it reminded me of the original Pocket PC devices running the slower MIPS and SH3 processors. I can only imagine that the slow FlashROM is causing this problem. I now plan to remove all applications, do a hard-reset, and see how the system responses in speed with no loaded applications. If it still is slow, then I'll definitely consider downgrading back to the original Windows Mobile 2003 SE OS that I was using.

I suppose the newer devices will have much faster FlashROM or processor speed, otherwise, using the WM 5.0 OS appears to be a giant step backwards in performance.

Has anyone else completed their upgrade, and if so how is the speed and performance on your device?

jediassassin · 10-31-05, 04:40 PM

On your last point. I have been hearing the the ROM used in the x51v is slower than the type used in the x50v. So if anything, the "newer" devices from Dell may be slower if they use the slow ROM type.

Is any x51v or x50v owners experiencing this?

c00lk1d · 10-31-05, 04:43 PM

I lever had a PDA before, I don't think my x51v is slow.
There is a delay of 2-3 sec in loading the programs folder... not sure if thats fast or slow for a PDA

10-31-05, 05:09 PM

How much available ram would it have after a hard reset?

Nabilon · 10-31-05, 05:10 PM

I thaught that the BIS is slow as a snail in general?

I have most of my progs installed on my SD card (a standard no high-speed extra super fast card) and they run faster then when ihad them in BIS.

(Running on WM03)

EngrPaul · 10-31-05, 05:33 PM

Daniel,

How did the programs run once they were launched? Did the sluggishness go away as services were queued up into RAM?

Developer_PPC · 10-31-05, 06:09 PM

Everything just seemed slow. Bring up the start menu, having the programs screen redrawn, etc. all seemed slow on my x50v. I'll keep working with it for the next few days to see if I can get used to it, otherwise, I'll go back to the 2003 SE OS.

Hobbbbit · 10-31-05, 07:05 PM

I just upgraded my X50v as well. No problems while upgrading, and for me it doesn't seems that slow (maybe I'm just used to WisBar slowing start menu down a lot?). But now I have the following problem? I understand that soft reset is slow now, but my Pocket PC is resetting for 10 minutes strait now. I couldn't wait that long the first time, so I did hard reset and it's the same thing all over again. Nothing for 10 minutes already. Is that common, or it's just me? How long does it take your X50v to show today screen after the reset bar is full?

Nevermind, that was my SD card. It's been acting strange for the longest time. Good thing that I ordered myself new one just yesterday.

gjw · 10-31-05, 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by Hobbbbit

I understand that soft reset is slow now, but my Pocket PC is resetting for 10 minutes strait now.

Are you using WisBar even with WM5?
I think I saw post over on the WisBar forum that described this same problem.
The latest WisBar beta apparently resolved it.

Hobbbbit · 10-31-05, 07:20 PM

Nope. It was my SD card. I haven't even installed a single application on the device. Just formated my SD card and as soon as I inserted the card my Pocket PC froze. And didn't want to reset. Just had to pull the card out and insert it again.. Stupid Sandisk cards.

HelloKitty · 10-31-05, 07:23 PM

10min? my x51v takes 1 min

abthomps · 10-31-05, 07:28 PM

My upgrade went pretty smooth and have installed multiple programs (MS Money, Avantgo, Pocket TV, Podometer, lots of games)

I too noticed the delay but after several resets it seems to be running faster (I also put the processor on maximum)

vinwal · 10-31-05, 08:26 PM

I loaded the WM 5 upgrade to my x50v 2 days ago. The upgrade process was uneventful and went smoothly. Afterwards, I immediately saw a dramatic slow down in PDA performance. All programs open slowly (even with the processor at max) and videos that previously played flawlessly, are now clipped and out of sync. Calls to the Dell support staff about the performace slow down have not been helpful. If I can't find a work around or patch in the next couple of days, I'm going back to 2003 SE. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Morphy · 10-31-05, 08:40 PM

Everything said here so far certainly reinforces my decision to wait on upgrading. I received my upgrade CD today but all I'm doing is staring at it. Is it a trick or treat?

BCloud99 · 10-31-05, 10:38 PM

I'm a new member at this forum and i am also new to PDAs. However, my knowledge about computers isn't that bad. I am guessing it should be about the same, computers and PDA. Just to let you know how my story went when i got the x51v about 2 weeks ago. Initial impression, extremely slow and sluggish. Took a second or so to open up the start menu. Scroll bar on programs window would lag for a second and then continue scrolling down. It was ridiculous. Even my Pentium 1 would not run so slow, and my Pentium 1 is only a 200 MHZ computer. THis thing runs at 624 mhz. I purchased the fastest one hoping that I would not experience such slow downs. I called up Dell, told them this unit might be faulty cause it's extremely slow and it froze a lot. On top of that, i had to soft reset a few times a day. From what i know, this thing should be able to come in and out from standby without freezing. So i got my replacement. It had an updated ROM. Newer than the old one that i sent back. THe sluggishness seems to still be there, but not as bad as the other one. The programs window does not lag once it is in the memory. So i guess the old one i got was a faulty unit that had a bad memory or something. But the WM5 is extremely slow to let you know. Some programs take a few seconds to load. I never had an x50 before or experienced Windows2003SE, but if i could i would go back to Windows2003SE because there are no real good improvements with this new OS. Just to let you know, i know it's horrible to upgrade from Win98 to WinXP with an old computer because XP just eats your ram away unless u purchase a new computer that can handle its intensive demand. This is the same experience on the x51v.