"Auto" processor stuck at 624MHz?

adambravo · 11-30-05, 04:10 PM

After seeing my X50 battery level drop to 35% by 3pm today after an average day of use, I am perplexed. I have instituted the Activesync fix so it doesn't run all the time. I have unchecked the battery meter in Wisbar Advance. I have disabled error reporting.

So what's left? I checked processor speed. I exited Wisbar, and, with only one Today Plugin (Pocket Weather) my processor reads--and sticks at--624MHz when set to Auto. What the...?

Adam

11-30-05, 04:15 PM

I am guessing you are running WM5 on your X50?
Do you have memory cards?

kam33mitch · 11-30-05, 05:22 PM

Adam,

A lot of us are having this same problem and we are hoping that the next upgrade from Dell will fix it. I have not seen anyone come up with a solution for this one yet.

tstar · 11-30-05, 06:17 PM

RESCO file Explorer was the program that caused my 50v to lock up at 624Mhz. Its removal and 2 soft resets restored proper operation.

adambravo · 11-30-05, 06:19 PM

I have both a CF and SD cards. However, with the cards removed, it's still apparently stuck at 624MHz. Are the cards causing the battery drain?

Liuke · 11-30-05, 07:36 PM

bluevolume had an excellent explanation of this behavior in WM 5.0 in another thread which I'll just paste here:

Originally Posted by bluevolume

In the testing I have done, the vast majority of the problems are being caused by a system process (filesys.exe) that has gone haywire. For what seems to be totally random, this process will kick in and chew up the CPU for indeterminate amounts of time. Whenever you go to use your Axim, and you click Start, or Programs, or whatever and it takes like 2 seconds to respond, this is why. Depending on when you pick up your Axim it may or may not be experiencing this, so the same machine may seem to be quick and responsive, or slow and lagging. If you are someone who doesn't use your Axim much, or are just lucky enough to only have it on when it isn't having the 'process' issue, then you probably think your Axim is fine.

Symptoms of filesys.exe going nuts:
- Response to screen clicks very slow
- Keyboard lag (click letter, wait for it to appear on screen)
- All applications run slowly, seem to always be 'waiting' for something
- CPU does not scale down below 624 when on auto
- Back of Axim becomes warm / hot because of constant CPU use
- Poor battery life due to CPU use

If Dell can fix only this with a new rev, they will have taken care of most of the problems.

I suffer from this same prob myself, and it drives me nuts since my X50v runs very slow and drains the battery when it happens. Too bad there is no fix for this issue yet. :(

smacmillan · 12-01-05, 03:53 AM

Originally Posted by adambravo

After seeing my X50 battery level drop to 35% by 3pm today after an average day of use, I am perplexed. I have instituted the Activesync fix so it doesn't run all the time. I have unchecked the battery meter in Wisbar Advance. I have disabled error reporting.

So what's left? I checked processor speed. I exited Wisbar, and, with only one Today Plugin (Pocket Weather) my processor reads--and sticks at--624MHz when set to Auto. What the...?

Adam

Have you implemented the Contrast applet tweak? I had the same problem and found that I could replicate it (presen/not present) by enabling/disabling the contrast tweak.

I.e., with the contrast applet enabled the processor would peg at 624 on auto. With it disabled (the default) I'm back seeing processor speed settle down to 104 and about 1% battery drain overnight.

adambravo · 12-01-05, 06:52 AM

Originally Posted by smacmillan

Have you implemented the Contrast applet tweak? I had the same problem and found that I could replicate it (presen/not present) by enabling/disabling the contrast tweak.

I.e., with the contrast applet enabled the processor would peg at 624 on auto. With it disabled (the default) I'm back seeing processor speed settle down to 104 and about 1% battery drain overnight.

I am not familiar with the Contrast applet tweak. Could I have enabled it by accident?

smacmillan · 12-01-05, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by adambravo

I am not familiar with the Contrast applet tweak. Could I have enabled it by accident?

No. You have to set it up via a registry edit. Looks like you are looking for another candidate.

corman · 12-01-05, 11:05 AM

A word of caution to those who do all of the suggested fixes and find that they are still pegging at 624 MHz.

Do NOT check your AUTO settings when you are connected to a power source. I found that when connected to a power source my power setting on Auto always displays 624. When I remove the power source, it then will settle down to 104 if nothing else is running (or something in-between 104 and 624 depending on what may be running).

I listen to a lot of AudioBooks where the entire book may be one long (10 hours plus) WMA track. I have not found a stand alone MP3 player yet with adequate bookmarking facility to accomodate such files. Therefore I use my AXIM. When doing this, I set the processor speed to Power Saving (208MHz), turn off the backlight, and get 7+ hours of battery life.

SteveC

sublimee · 12-05-05, 12:36 PM

whole heartedly recommend the contrast tweak disabling (from tweaks2k2). It solved the stuck spu speed of 624mhz, now goes down to 104mhz when idle, battery life is significantly better, and hardly any battery drain when left in power off mode.

12-05-05, 03:06 PM

my x50v+wm5 drops down to 208, but never to 104...bleh....no idea why

shsmith · 12-05-05, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by Lat

my x50v+wm5 drops down to 208, but never to 104...bleh....no idea why

Are you using Magic Button by chance? On my axim if you set Magic Button to show the task icons it never goes below 200mhz. If you toggle them off it goes to 104. Probably lots of other add-ons have a similar impact.

adambravo · 12-05-05, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by sublimee

whole heartedly recommend the contrast tweak disabling (from tweaks2k2). It solved the stuck spu speed of 624mhz, now goes down to 104mhz when idle, battery life is significantly better, and hardly any battery drain when left in power off mode.

So you UNCHECK the box for the contrast app (where it says X50/1)? I hadn't heard that; I have been running with Bluetooth on all the time and am noticing a big increase in battery life. Not sure about the processor speed, though; I still think it's stuck on 624, although that could be the bluetooth talking...

12-05-05, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by shsmith

Are you using Magic Button by chance? On my axim if you set Magic Button to show the task icons it never goes below 200mhz. If you toggle them off it goes to 104. Probably lots of other add-ons have a similar impact.

yes, i was using magic button, and yes, the moment i turned it off it dropped down to 104...smart guy you :)

maybe magic button uses just enough cpu to keep it at 208...