X5 Loses Programs when Battery dies

[egruber]

I have an Axim X5. I installed a Pharos GPS system on it and it works great. But if I let the battery run out the Pharos programs and my settings are gone and I have to reinstall them from my desktop with Active Sync.

Is there any way to install the programs onto the SD card or other permanent storage so they don't get deleted? I don't use the device much and I don't want to keep it plugged in just to keep the battery up.


Thanks!

Unfortunately, no. The versions of Windows Mobile that the X5 uses do not have persistent memory so when the battery runs out, it effectively hard resets the device. (Persistent memory wasn't introduced to Windows Mobile until WM5.) That means that even if you installed the program on a memory card, the registry will reset too, so the X5 wouldn't know it was there and you'd have to reinstall it anyway.

You could at least take a system back-up after you have your settings in place (and leave that back-up on a memory card) so that if it does reset after the battery drains, you could at least just run a restore instead of having to reinstall and then redo all of the settings. Just a thought.

And it is probably better for the battery to keep it charged up. leaving it sitting around dead is not good for Lion batteries.

[Julie]

And it is probably better for the battery to keep it charged up. leaving it sitting around dead is not good for Lion batteries.

Yeah, allowing the batteries to constantly go flat can damage the battery and then you'd have to buy a new battery.

If you are going to to leave the pocket pc lying around without using it for a while, backup the contents of the pocket pc to your computer or a storage card, then remove the battery and store the battery in a cool dry place.

julie