WM 5.0 / X50v Bugs: Battery ! Activesynch !

[Hopster]

Just got done with a one hour chat with the polite fellow in India over my Axim support issue. Interestingly his first response was to say it wasn't within the scope of "free" support and tried to direct me to the Toll support.

Issue #1 :

After using the axim for awhile with plenty of battery life remaining, woke up to find it completely dead. Soft reset wouldnt wake it up. It had been on the nightstand for roughly 6 hours. Battery apparently drained itself even with unit off.
This occurred after installing WM5. His resolution was to send me a new battery. It worked fine before the WM 5 upgrade.
I'll try to repeat the circumstances and see if it happens again with my existing battery, before the new one arrives.

Issue #2 :

ActiveSynch keeps restarting itself on the PDA even though I keep shutting it off. There is no option found to disable it from autostarting. I have "beam" etc. all disabled. I am using only BT for GPS and will eventually crank up the wireless on it, but so far that is set to off. This happens while using the PDA out of its cradle. I shut it off. A few minutes later I find it running again. All synch categories are for now shut off.

The only upside so far with switching to WM5 is with the dead battery for the first time I didn't have to reinstall my GPS software.

[ZoSo925]

Im experiencing somewhat the same problem.

All today I was experiencing non-responsive wake up issues. I travel to a bunch of computer sites all day and normally put it in standby. It just started today, If I leave my x51v in standby for like more then 10 minutes, the unit will not wake up.

I forgot about the reset button, but I just reseated the battery and hit the buttons a bunch of times to finally turn on.

- I make sure WiFi is disabled before putting in standby & dont use bluetooth

For program buttons, I always had them unchecked so only the power button will wake up from standby

Im seeing that darn ActiveSync in my Running Programs all the time now. If I kill the task it will come back on again.

I heard M$ is comming out with ActiveSync 4.1 in less then 2 weeks, so hopefully this will solve the problem.

[ikehiker]

ActiveSync 4.1 runs on the PC and will have no effect on it starting up by itself on the PPC. Whatever the reason for it running (and M$ may have a reason), I doubt that it's using many resources while it's on.

As for the non-start issue, try removing all the memory cards before shutting it off. That and turning off WiFi seem to be the things that work most often for people having this problem (at least until Dell comes out with a new ROM to fix it).

[fuzzypenguin]

I'm having the non-responsive startup problem too. Do you have a password assigned? I tried turning mine off to see if that would fix the problem.

Best,
Scotty

[blutrane]

i have activesync 4.1 (the leaked copy) it starts up every 5 mins as well

my iPAQ w/ WM5 (hx2755 upgraded) never turned on by itself nor do i ever get err 85010014 with the iPAQ

it sucks because the ipaq is totaly reliable and the x50v isn't shame the iPAQ dosent have vga screen and 2700g and the axim form factor :P

[ikehiker]

I'm having the non-responsive startup problem too. Do you have a password assigned? I tried turning mine off to see if that would fix the problem.

I tried that, too, but it didn't help. The only thing that consistently works for me - now for a week since the problem first occurred- is not keeping any memory card in the slot. A couple of times (tonight was one) when I forgot to remove my sd card, after the Axim was off for a couple of hours, it would not start without the reset.

[DarkFORCE]

I got this info from Dell today about this problem.


{Ray Milyard 1:54:47 PM} Since upgrading to WM5 when my Axim sits off for about than 10 mins it requires a reset to turn on.
The session has been accepted.

{Alam 1:54:53 PM} Thank you for contacting Dell Hardware Electronics and Accessories Warranty Support. My name is Alam. Could I have the name and telephone number as per your Dell records for security reasons ?
{Alam 1:55:07 PM} Hi Ray, how are you doing ?
{Ray Milyard 1:55:12 PM} xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
{Alam 1:55:48 PM} Thank you for the confirmation.
{Ray Milyard 1:55:53 PM} Since upgrading to WM5 when my Axim sits off for about than 10 mins it requires a reset to turn on.
{Ray Milyard 1:56:32 PM} Also randomly turns itself on when in the cradle
{Alam 1:57:46 PM} Ray this is a known issue. Dell is releasing a new ROM by November 18 and that should resolve this issue.
{Ray Milyard 1:58:06 PM} Both issues?
{Alam 1:58:43 PM} Yes, as they are almost of the same type.
{Ray Milyard 1:59:13 PM} Good.. I take it this will be a FREE upgrade since I bought the Upgrade CD?
{Alam 1:59:44 PM} Could I have your Express Service Code of the Axim please ?
{Ray Milyard 2:00:09 PM} xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
{Alam 2:00:12 PM} Thank you.
{Alam 2:01:13 PM} You may download the new ROM from www.support.dell.com and yes, that won't cost you.
{Alam 2:02:18 PM} Is there anything else that I could assist you with ?
{Ray Milyard 2:04:22 PM} that should do it for now
{Alam 2:04:50 PM} Ok, let me quickly give you the case number.
{Ray Milyard 2:04:58 PM} k

[Louse76]

Hmm, let's see how true that is come Nov 18.

[peterhamm]

Same problems you guys are having--thing is dead in the AM when I pick it up even though it had 90% battery when it was off.

Need to soft reset it several times a day when I go to turn it on also.

[jcpfish]

Will ROM upgrades clear the programs loaded and require me to reload everything when I do the ROM upgrade? If so, is there a backup program available for WM5?

[DomFel]

Will ROM upgrades clear the programs loaded and require me to reload everything when I do the ROM upgrade? If so, is there a backup program available for WM5?

Yes, ROM upgrades format the memory, so theoretically you should install all the programs back again. But you can do the full backup directly from your pda: Start -> Programs -> Data Backup.
ActiveSync 4.1 does NOT support computer backups anymore .

[seligman]

Yes, ROM upgrades format the memory, so theoretically you should install all the programs back again.

That remains to be seen. For updates from WM5 to later versions of WM5 (or fixes from Dell) WM5 supports a technology known as "Image Update" that allows ROM updates that don't blow away the user store. Hopefully Dell will use this for any updates they release, but they may have reasons not to. Only time will tell.

From PocketPC Mag:

Another related new feature, "image update," simplifies the process of upgrading your operating system. Often, HP, Dell and other manufacturers offer upgrades to the current operating system to fix bugs and add features. Previously, these upgrades required wiping out all the software and data on your system. With image update, the upgrade will be almost as painless as installing new software.