Listed below are the various types of resets that you can do on your WM5 iPaq.

A soft reset stops all running applications, but does not erase any
programs or saved data. Be sure to save any unsaved data within a
running application before performing a soft reset.

To perform a soft reset:
1. Locate the recessed Reset button on the bottom of your HP iPAQ.
2. Use the stylus to lightly press the Reset button.
The HP iPAQ restarts and displays the Today screen.

A hard reset stops all running applications, but does not erase any
programs or saved data. A hard reset also resets all hardware registers.
Be sure to save any unsaved data within a running application before
performing a hard reset.

To perform a hard reset:
1. Press and hold the Calendar and iTask buttons.
2. While holding down these buttons, use the stylus to lightly press the
Reset button on the bottom of the HP iPAQ for about two seconds.
3. When the HP iPAQ screen begins to fade, release the Calendar
and iTask buttons first, and then remove the stylus from the Reset
button.
4. Plug the device into the AC Adapter or press the Reset button
again.
The HP iPAQ resets and powers on.

A clean reset clears all user-installed settings, programs, and data, and it
restores your HP iPAQ to factory settings. If you perform a clean reset, your HP
iPAQ loses all data, including data in Persistent Store.

To perform a clean reset and return your HP iPAQ to factory settings:
1*. Press and hold the Calendar, Power, and Messaging buttons.
2**. While holding down these buttons, use the stylus to lightly press the
Reset button on the bottom of the HP iPAQ until the device
restarts.
3. When the HP iPAQ restarts, release all of the buttons, and then
remove the stylus from the Reset button.
The HP iPAQ restarts and powers on.

* for the HX4700/4705 series, hold down the [Contacts] + [Inbox] buttons instead.
** for the HX4700/4705 series, there will be a clean reset confirmation. To cancel, press iTask and to confirm, press Calendar.

Thanks for that. I've been wondering what the difference between hard reset and clean reset was.

Very concise and well written. It clears things up for me as well. Thank you for posting that.

A. Jay

Thanks a lot... I was planning on hard resetting my 2755 in the next week and had no clue as to how... this makes things easier...

after trying to perform a clean reset as described above on my hx4700, all that happened was i managed to permanently disable my backlight and i couldn't get it back on. below is the method to clean reset that works with the the hx4700 and possibly the other wm5 ipaqs.

Press and hold the Contacts and Inbox buttons. At the same time, insert stylus into Reset hole on bottome of PDA until you see a dialogue box witht he following message: "To perform a clean reset which will clear ALL DATA in memory, press Calendar. To cancel this request press iTask." Press Calendar to complete the clean reset.

took a while but I've finally updated this page for the HX4700/5 series.

Thank you cookie kid.

can we get this sticky-ed?

(btw, i'm baaaaaaaaack )

The following applies to the hx2790 and probably also applies to the rest of the WM5 hx2000 series.

Some things you can expect to happen on different types of reset:

Soft Reset and Hard Reset:
Start menu may take a long time (up to a minute) to appear the first time you use it after a Soft Reset.
This depends on the what programs you have installed (not just what is in the main start menu).
Skype is one that can cause this side effect.
After the first time, the start menu will work normally.

Soft Reset and Hard Reset:
The Start/Settings/Buttons may take up to 30 seconds to respond the first time it is used.
It is not known whether this is also related to the issue described above.

Hard Reset:
The Start/Settings/Buttons/Lock /Disable all buttons except power button is UNchecked by a hard reset.
This can have some nasty side effects as the pda may be turned on accidentally, draining the battery

Hard Reset:
The backlight is set to 50% on battery and 100% on external.

Hard Reset:
The clock/calendar will be set to the factory default time/date in 2005
This may not be noticed and you might think all your appointments are gone. Just set the clock to the correct date and time.

Clean Reset:
The following HP service packs are preserved after a Clean Reset. It is not necessary to re-install these after a Clean Reset.
SP32466 Bluetooth Firmware Update version 1.7.1.1424
SP32878 Firmware Update version 1.00
SP31945 HP iPAQ Micro Keyboard Driver Update version 2.0.0.15
Others may also be preserved.
To remove these and return to true factory defaults you will need to apply SP32408 Firmware 1.00.00H
NOTE the "b" series of the hx2000 series has different upgrades and a different base ROM but will probably behave in a similar fashion.

Sorry for dredging up this oldie but I've done all reset versions and my Hx2795b just hangs at the end of the reset cycle. By that I mean, the scroll bar moves to the right, reaches the end and just sits there, it won't return to the normal startup screen or any screen for that matter. Have tried soft, hard and clean resets but the little guy is just stuck. I'll have to do another clean reset just to turn off the screen.

I have Sprite backups available but cannot get to a screen to use it. Actually this happened just after completing a Sprite backup and it soft reset.