Solution - Axim not turning on, Disappearing CF/SD Cards and Battery Discharge

[g00nerz]

[Note: This 'fix' is already known to many, but for those that are unaware, and those that don't understand why the Activesync fix will help, please read on - I have re-written in layman's terms. Those who actually use Exchange Servers for syncing their Axim should check posts #9 and #12 below before doing anything.]

Got a brand spanking new Axim x51(v)? Are YOU experiencing these problems?

• Axim Will not power on after standby?
• White Screen Of Death (WSOD)
• Losing CF or SD cards?
• Battery losing charge while on standby?
• Axim overheating when left in standby mode?
• If Leaving WiFi on when putting into standby, it's light starts flashing for no reason?

Feeling like you've just wasted your hard earned cash on a bad buy? Upset by people in this very forum telling you to send it back, take legal action, burn it, demand a refund etc? Fear not my fellow Axim user, for they are the uneducated... Let's start at the beginning:

These problems appear to be caused by Activesync, a program that runs in the background of Windows Mobile on your Axim - The good news is they CAN be solved in most cases!

There is strong reasoning to suggest that the cause of these problems is that little program we all know and love called Activesync. Read on fellow forumite, as fixing these problems should be a case of simply changing a few settings in Activesync's options menu!

Some Background:

Activesync on your Axim
Activesync is a program installed on your Axim by default as part of the Windows Mobile Operating System. It's primary function as far as I'm aware is for syncing data with your PC and providing a means to install software and transfer files. You cannot get rid of it from your Axim (as far as I know), nor would you really want to. Unfortunately for all the good things Activesync should do, it is a bit of a badly designed program.

Activesync on your PC, and Synchronising data
In order to connect and synchronise data between your Axim and a PC you also have to install a version of Activesync on your PC (included on the Axim CD). When you plug your Axim into it's USB Dock both versions of Activesync talk to each other and your information is synchronised automatically. Every change you make on your PC relating to your calendar, emails or shared files while the Axim is docked will trigger a new sync and vice versa. The Axim and PC will also sync every 5 minutes while docked no matter what. As far as I know this currently cannot be stopped without the aid of a third party program called Activesync Toggle, or some deft 'end tasking' in the Windows PC's Task Manager.

So, why do I keep getting the problems listed above?
This is due to Activesync launching itself on your Axim when it is not docked with your PC. You may ask why Activesync isn't intelligent enough to see that your Axim is not docked...

For an unknown reason Microsoft thought it would be a great idea to make Activesync load itself automatically and attempt to sync even when your Axim is not docked. Even if you manually close it, or go into Start > Memory > Running Programs > Stop on your Axim, it will simply re-launch itself 5 minutes later. It will then attempt to connect to your PC Activesync connection every 5 minutes by default, again even though your Axim is not docked. It does this no matter what you do. You could be in the middle of a critical Axim gaming moment on a processor intensive 3D game where all your memory counts, and suddenly everything becomes choppy and bang, you crash and burn... Activesync is eating your memory. Or your Axim could be on standby and Activesync will load and bring your Axim out of standby... How annoying! And what is worse, by default there is no option to stop it behaving in this odd manner.

Activesync - Microsoft's crazy logic
Nothing is more important to Activesync than synchronising your data... The only thing that ever goes through Activesync's tiny little program loop are the words "Must Sync, Must Sync, Must Sync". In Commodore 64 Basic (which it may well be written in) it's source code would look like this:

10 Print "Must Sync"
20 goto 10

Ok, now that we know Activesync is trying to sync constantly, why is this causing so many power-related problems? The answer is nobody knows for sure. We can only surmise that Activesync launching itself while your Axim is on standby is causing some kind of software error that means it will not switch on from standby. If it's in this state and you plug it into it's PC docking station you will most likely also see a WSOD (White Screen Of Death). Activesync switching your Axim on while unattended may also be the cause of WiFi suddenly coming to life, battery discharging itself overnight and finding your Axim very hot when picking up to use.

The all important Solution
This 'server trick' was discovered by another Aximsite forum member known as Invid a little while ago. This information is courtesy of him originally, and copied many times throughout the Aximsite forum, but I am re-writing in easy to follow laymans terms to hopefully make this a sticky, and stop the multiple posting regarding the same old problems. Here we go!

1. Turn on your Axim
2. Go to Start > Programs > Activesync. This will open the Activesync program.
3. Tap Menu at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This will bring up the Options Menu. Notice the option Schedule... is greyed out? This is the all-critical option we need to get access to. But as it's disabled we can't change Activesync's default synchronisation schedule.

Ok, so how do we enable the Schedule option? Easy!!! Fool Activesync into thinking there is an Exchange Server to sync with:

1. From Activesync's Menu tap on Add Server Source.
2. In the following screens you can enter any old garbage. It does not matter, but just in case your unsure, just type the following in the indicated boxes:

Server Address: fake
Tap Next
User name: fake
Password: fake
Domain: fake
(Ticking save password or going into the Advanced menu makes no difference, so no need to bother).
Tap Next
Untick all of the 'Data you want to synchronise' options
Tap Finish

3. Ok, we're done creating the server. You should now see in Activesync's main screen your normal Activesync connection(s), and a new connection called Exchange Server.
4. Go back into the Menu, and lo and behold the Schedule option is now enabled! Go ahead and tap it!
5. You will see that both options in the Schedule screen are set to Every 5 Minutes (A01 Rom), or Every 10 Minutes (A06 Rom). This simply will not do! ( * Advanced users - please see my note below * )
6. Using the drop downs, change both the Peak times and Off-peak times boxes to Manually.
7. Press the OK button at the top right of the screen.

Congratulations! Activesync is now gagged from opening on it's own and ruining your life! Your work is not done just yet though - time to clean up and get rid of the now unwanted fake Exchange Server.

1. Go back into Activesync's Menu, then Tap Options.
2. Highlight Exchange Server, then tap Delete. A warning message will appear about removing files etc, but as you have no files associated with the fake Exchange Server, it's nothing to worry about - just tap Ok.
3. The list will now only show your remaining PC Sync connection(s). Obviously do not delete these!

So there you go, your Axim will now be happy to lead a normal and fulfilling life serving your organisational needs.

You may now put your Axim on Standby safe in the knowledge it will turn back on when you need it to. You can be sure that your CF and SD cards are no longer going to go walkabout. You can be safe in the knowledge that your battery should no longer lose it's charge. Etc etc.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you.


* Advanced users: The fact that the default Sync times have been changed by Dell on each of the new ROMs indicates they know Activesync is the cause of the problems... *


Additional info added 16/05/2006, thanks to Terryvi for this:
After you sync your Axim with a PC and have removed it from the dock, you must manually close ActiveSync on your Axim or it will remain running and defeat the purpose of the fake exchange server hack (n.b. if you are not using a 3rd party program that will close apps permanently e.g. Magic Button or Wisbar, you will need to go to Start > Settings > System > Memory > Running Programs and Stop it manually). This could be why some people have had no luck with the hack.

[Li0rE]

thanks for posting it like this. this is a known fix but I dont think it is officially recognized, so making it a sticky would be good.

[g00nerz]

Thanks Li0rE, I've put a little note at the top of my post explaining the situation.

[Zeus661]

Followed your steps EXACTLY and mine was already set to "manually". Also I have suffered the WSOD and disappearing CF card while in that setting. It also sync by itself while docked. I am not confident your procedure solve anything.

[g00nerz]

Zeus661 - Do you notice if Activesync ever loads on it's own when your Axim is not docked? i.e. Do you ever switch it on and Activesync has loaded and is the first thing you see?

Can I also ask - Did you set the sync schedule to Manually yourself? Or was it already that way when you received your Axim?

If indeed this fix does not work for you, as far as I can tell you will be the only reported person the fix doesn't work for - at least since I've been hanging around on this forum (4 weeks max).

Are there any others I wonder? Could this Activesync fix actually only work on certain x51/x51v's?

[MadMic]

Cheers for this - being a bit of a n00b with my Axim (just under a month young!) I'm really interested in reading all the knowledge ppl have to offer - this combined with the "Leave bluetooth enabled" trick and A06 ROM seems to have made my X51v play nicely...

[g00nerz]

Hi MadMic, just for your information you should no longer have to leave Bluetooth on if you've done the Activesync Fake Server trick. Should save you some battery time!

[gulakpi]

I applied this fix since A01 to A04 to A06. I never had the battery leak problem again since.
I did not patch the I/O registries since I upgraded to A06 and applied only this fix and the SetSecurity patch, it worked like a charm for me!

[airwolfuk]

g00nerz - great post. One quick question.

I actually need the exchange server setup so i can get mail/ diary etc to my Axim from my companies exchange server. It seems to work OK and the schedule is set to 10mins. If i set the schedule to manual, do i achieve the same as you have noted. Obviously i need the setting so i cannot delete them as you describe. My concern is that deleting as you describe actually stops AS from loading but in my setup i guess it will load but only sync when i say so? Hope i am making sense - thanks

[aido]

I did try as your instruction. However, when I placed my axim 51v on the cradle, it still turns on and sync automatically (not manually). Please advise. Thanks

[puntloos]

Activesync-on-cradling is impossible to prevent. But not really a bad-thing, is it? Well.. ok it is a bad thing, I would prefer the axim to not be powered on all the time, but just turning off your display backlight (press and hold your power button for a while) will fix this.

[g00nerz]

Originally Posted by airwolfuk

g00nerz - great post. One quick question.

I actually need the exchange server setup so i can get mail/ diary etc to my Axim from my companies exchange server. It seems to work OK and the schedule is set to 10mins. If i set the schedule to manual, do i achieve the same as you have noted. Obviously i need the setting so i cannot delete them as you describe. My concern is that deleting as you describe actually stops AS from loading but in my setup i guess it will load but only sync when i say so? Hope i am making sense - thanks

Aha! This is something I was going to mention, but didn't because of lack of experience with an Axim and an Exchange Server. I think I'll put a little note in about this.

One question - do you actually have power on problems etc? If not I'd leave everything as it is.

If you do have problems with powering on etc then you could set the sync to manual and just sync whenever you need to, and not let the Axim do it automatically.

This does defeat the object of having an Exchange server though. In cases such as this I suppose you need to weigh up the alternatives:

1. Suffer powering up problems/missing CF&SD cards but Activesync syncs automatically to download mail etc.

2. Cure the power/CF&SD card problems but have to manually sync.

Neither is ideal, but it will have to do until Dell fix it properly I suppose. Anyone else have experience with this?

[The_Penguin]

Originally Posted by g00nerz

Upset by people in this very forum telling you to send it back, take legal action, burn it, demand a refund etc? Fear not my fellow Axim user, for they are the uneducated...

Excellent post!
Even though this info is available here, this was well laid out, and hopefully will quiet the shouts of "Send it back"

While I think that Dell/MS should fix these issues properly, these work-arounds are easy enough to do, and are certainly a much better alternative than sending it back, or whining.

[That70sGAdawg]

Thanks for detailing this for everyone - it should be sticky! I received my new x51v last week and this activesync issue was the only thing so far from making it perfect! Well, if a GSM phone was built in it would be perfect. But my new Blackberry 8700c handles the mail and phone fine. The Axim will be for travel GPS, movies, and music..

[scott_lapointe]

Will this work on an the x50v with the upgrade?