Axim x51V Locking Issue

Brownarola · 12-19-08, 02:36 PM

I recently picked up an x51V and purchased a SD Card for it. I don't use it to upload emails or do anything like that. I had to purchase it for a class I'm taking next semester and the prof recommended the axim. (I should have bought an iphone or blackberry instead). Anyway, what I have discovered is when I leave an application running on the axim and then shut it off, and later turn it back on, The pda seems to be frozen and does not respond to screen taps. It almost appears like the system is trying to process something. I am not putting the PDA into Hibernate mode. I am pressing the power button and the button turns orange when plugged into the cradle.

I have tried a couple different resolutions to the issue but they have not resolved the issue including unscheduling active sync, and changing the registry settings to change one setting from 1500 to 4096.

The issue only appears to happen when I'm running an application and I shutoff the PDA. When I power the PDA backup the screen does not accept any of my screen taps. I do a soft reboot and then everything is back to normal. If nothing is running and I power off and power on the Axim everything works fine.

The Rom installed is A012. I'm not wanting to upgrade to the WM6.0 by football yet because I'm afraid the PDA will not be able to run the IOGear GPS201 software. Maybe I'm wrong about the IOGEAR GPS201, but I'm baffled by this odd Axim issue.

Additional Notes:
* I leave the 2gig sd card in the pda
* There are NO issues with the battery loosing charge/
* The SD Card is not disappearing.
* Active Sync was set to manual and I verify that it is shut down.
* Most applications I have installed are on the SD Disk.
* Rom = A012

I'm new to the Axim, and most likely someone has posted this before. I have searched but I can't seem to locate the resolution.

Thanks

johnhu_2005 · 12-19-08, 05:02 PM

First, please verify about the lock switch. Shift it back and forth a few times.
Second, try another SD card, borrow one from a friend maybe?
Lastly, can you please mention what program you were using "when the Axim locks".

Brownarola · 12-19-08, 06:45 PM

Thanks for the feedback.

1. The lock switch is definately disengaged. I have moved it up and down multiple times thinking the same thing you did.

2. The SD Card is a brand new 2G Kodak but it may have a bad sector. It's a fat32 format and when I sync it up with either XP or Vista I can browse the card with no problems. I've also been able to browse to the sd card from the pda's windows explorer and it sees all the files and folders that I created.
Wondering if I can do a scandisk on this little sucker using the PC's scandisk program? I don't know why that would not work to check for bad sectors.

3. What I have found through testing is that it does not matter what program is running at the time I poweroff the pda, it's the power-on part that appears to be sucking up the processor. Too bad there isn't a task manager or a cpu meter to see if the CPU is being pegged out by some process when the PDA is powered up.

:approve: BTW - I'm a software analyst and I have owned PDA's in the past so windows and PDA's are not new to me. I know how to sync up a PDA and I can swap a screen or rip out the motherboard like a pro. This also is not an ID10T error or an EBKAC (error between keyboard and chair). It appears to be something with a process triggered by the power on of the PDA.

Based on may knowledge of OS's, It's like the PDA is trying to do a reload or a data dump when it's powered back on and it simply does not know what to do or the CPU is being hogged by something. Of course I get impatient after 2 minutes and do a soft reset and then everything is fine.

Box · 12-19-08, 06:59 PM

Do you have the same problem if the SD card is in the AX?

It would help to know what programs you have installed.

Have you considered doing a hard reset to verify whether it reacts the same way without any extra software installed.

Normally I would suggest the Fake Server trick but you seem to have covered that,

I would guess it's software related, perhaps something that you have installed on the SD card that is having trouble at start up.

It also sounds reminiscent of leaving Wifi on.

It does sound strange, just throwing ideas.

Any weather programs or today screen plug ins that may be looking for an internet connection?

AKAJohnDoe · 12-19-08, 07:13 PM

If you have MemMaid or SKTools look at the Notification Queue. In particular, look for instances of the Odyssey Client (ODCLIENT or the like) and delete them all if they are there.

KimChee · 12-19-08, 08:25 PM

I would bet its a program installed on the sd card that is locking up your Axim. I had the exact same problem with spb mobileshell installed on my sd card. It would freeze the axim upon a power off/power on sequence, until I moved it into the main memory, and no matter what program I had open it would lockup after a poweroff, fixed by a soft reset. If you have some time maybe you could play around with that perhaps.

JakeRich · 12-19-08, 09:31 PM

One more thing: Do you have a My Documents folder on the SD card? IF not, create it and delete the 0 length file called "nomydocs" or something like that. Without a My Documents folder, the entire card is inventoried at power up.

Brownarola · 12-20-08, 02:50 PM

Let me see if I can answer all the questions.
My Os is WM5.
1. Programs that I have installed on the SD Disk are as follows
* GPX View: This is a program for viewing Geocaching LOC and GPX files. (I never leave this running. I also go into memory and delete any running programs.
* IOGear Navigation System. (IOGEAR - GBGPS201 - Bluetooth GPS with Navigation Software)
* Some music files But I have not been using them.
* Of course I have other folders that I created, but they don't contain programs as of yet.
* I did create a My Documents folder on the sd card but I did not see the 0 byte nomydocs file. I have powered off the Axim and powered it back on and the file does not appear to exist.
* I do have the Odyssey Client installed but I have never used it to connect to my lan. I actually have a Buffalo Wireless G router and with MAC filtering but I don't use it when I'm using Bluetooth.
* Internet explorer works fine and I have had no issues since I have added to my wireless lan.

**********************************
Under [Start] I have the following programs
***********************************
Unless otherwise stated, the programs are installed on the main memory.

a. Calendar (Not Used)
b. Contacts (Not Used)
c. Home (Not Used)
d. Internet Explorer (Rarely Used)
e. Messaging (Not Used)
f. Windows Media (Rarely Used)
h. IOGear Navigation System (Software installed in main memory and maps installed on the SD card).
I. GPX View (Installed on SD Card)
J. File Explorer
K. Bubble Breaker (installed Game in main memory)
L. PHM RegEdit
M. Programs
N. Settings
O. Help (Not Used)

********************
KimChee - I think you nailed it. I have the IO Gear software installed on the main memory and I have the maps on the SD Card. It must be having problems using both main and sd memory. Sounds like I just need to move the maps to main memory and see if that does not resolve the issue. Too bad you cannot boost the main memory from 190M to say 1 to 2 gigs.

After reading KimChee's post I ran a few minor tests which involved starting a recording and powering off the axim and then powering back on. Of course this worked perfectly. I also tried launching GPX View and leaving it running and powering off the axim and powering it back on. No issues. The minute I launched the IOGear software and powered off the axim and then powered it back up, the lockup issue reared it's ugly head. BlueTooth was activated and as noted by KimChee the softboot resolved the lockup.

Here's what I know about the GPS software. Basically the IOGBGPS 201 (IOGEAR - GBGPS201 - Bluetooth GPS with Navigation Software) is a gps receiver unit that you sit on your dashboard and the Axim receives information from it via bluetooth. I geoecache and I already have a handhelp GPS and I thought I did not need another GPS or Pocket PC. But you know college profs. For a class I taking in Jan 09 about creating Augmented Reality student lesson plans, I was required to purchase the Axim x51v and the GBGPS201. Here a website about the project: Handheld Augmented Reality Project

Since the issue seems to be clear now, I'm wondering if Lenny's 11 (Mobile 6)will resolve this issue so I don't have to keep loading programs into main memory and then deleting them when we need to add other programs. I did notice on the IOGear website it said that the program will run on 2002, 2003 and it obviously does work on the WM5 as long as you do not shutoff the GPS with the IOGear software running. It would be nice to be able to use 16G card to hold movies for business trips.

Thanks again for input. Over the years of product testing I have found that it's always beneficial to have someone else look at an issue when you hit a brick wall.

Brownarola · 12-20-08, 03:05 PM

After doing some testing it's definately the IOGear SOftware. Wondering if I upgrade to Lenny's 11 if that resolves the issue where you have software installed in both the main memory and on a SD Card.

This class is the reason I even purchased the axim & the GPSr. Handheld Augmented Reality Project

This was the GPS they recommended.
IOGEAR - Drivers & Manuals

I can't complain. I only paid $14 bucks for the GPS Unit and it was brand new. I'm kind of ticked over the price of the Axim, ($157). It's for school and that's the price you have to pay sometimes. I had thought about picking up a bricked one and replacing the motherboad. There is a place in Nevada that sells replacement parts dirt cheap and pda's are so easy to fix. My friend bricked his HP Pocket PC and he ended up just buying a new MB off ebay for $35 - $50 which at that time as a lot cheaper than sending to HP for repair.

Personally the GPS software reminds me of a TOM TOM and it does not display the coords in WS84 format. I think once this class is over, I'm thinking about putting this Axim back up on Ebay and buying a Blackberry or Iphone. I just don't have a need for a pda and there are a lot of newer phones that come prebundled with a GPS Unit, WM6 & Internet capabality already built in so I can honestly see the time of the PDA coming to an end. Plus you can download movies into the phones using a mini-usb cable so I just don't see PDA's having much of a future. Anyway that's just my opinion.

Again, thanks for the input.

rlarson_mn · 12-24-08, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by Brownarola

After doing some testing it's definately the IOGear SOftware. Wondering if I upgrade to Lenny's 11 if that resolves the issue where you have software installed in both the main memory and on a SD Card.

This class is the reason I even purchased the axim & the GPSr. Handheld Augmented Reality Project

This was the GPS they recommended.
IOGEAR - Drivers & Manuals

I can't complain. I only paid $14 bucks for the GPS Unit and it was brand new. I'm kind of ticked over the price of the Axim, ($157). It's for school and that's the price you have to pay sometimes. I had thought about picking up a bricked one and replacing the motherboad. There is a place in Nevada that sells replacement parts dirt cheap and pda's are so easy to fix. My friend bricked his HP Pocket PC and he ended up just buying a new MB off ebay for $35 - $50 which at that time as a lot cheaper than sending to HP for repair.

Personally the GPS software reminds me of a TOM TOM and it does not display the coords in WS84 format. I think once this class is over, I'm thinking about putting this Axim back up on Ebay and buying a Blackberry or Iphone. I just don't have a need for a pda and there are a lot of newer phones that come prebundled with a GPS Unit, WM6 & Internet capabality already built in so I can honestly see the time of the PDA coming to an end. Plus you can download movies into the phones using a mini-usb cable so I just don't see PDA's having much of a future. Anyway that's just my opinion.

Again, thanks for the input.

Just remember that all software that was made for WM5 on a Axim may not work on a cooked WM6 or WM6.1 ROM. I always backup my unit, load the new application, test and if things fall apart restore my unit using the backup application. I use SPB for my ROM backup application.