Upgrade issues with iPAQ5450

jellied · Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 10:43 am Post subject: Upgrade issues with iPAQ5450

Finally got the upgrade CD working with an iPAQ5450, but now when it verifies the CD is suitable for the device it reports the model ID and version of the iPAQ is rubbish (something like '¬) and ay~)

I am sure I have heard of this before - any ideas any one?

Ots · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 19, 2003 Posts: 8

I had a similar problem.... it would seem that your last ROM upgrade was dodgy or a dodgy rom was applied.

In the Asset Viewer, can you see a serial number and asset number?

Ots

DavidW · Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 5:43 pm Post subject:

I wouldn't be quite so hasty in jumping to the conclusion about a dodgy ROM upgrade, based on recent discussion in microsoft.public.pocketpc.

If the serial number and asset tag in the Asset Viewer are blank, then something, most likely a previous ROM upgrade, has wiped them, and you have a problem that will require sending the iPAQ in for service to sort out. If these appear blank, some software that relies on the device ID to authorise, including, I believe, TomTom Navigator 2, won't work. This problem can happen quite innocently - downgrading the ROM using a backup taken by the upgrade utility has been known to do that based on a previous post in the forums.

However, one person found the problem of not retrieving the correct device details when trying to upgrade a 5450 went away when they set up ActiveSync on another machine and used that to upgrade. It's unclear whether the problem was caused by having had ActiveSync 3.7.1 on his main machine, or whether it was some other problem (a USB issue, perhaps). ActiveSync 3.7.1, because of the changes in RAPI, doesn't agree with some software including, I believe, at least some of the ROM upgraders.

If you've got access to another machine, it may be worth installing ActiveSync and trying there. I don't believe you need to install Outlook just for a ROM upgrade (installing a copy of Outlook that's already on another machine is asking for problems if it's Outlook 2002 or Outlook 2003, as from 2002 (XP) onwards, both Outlook and Office use Product Activation). I would try it myself, but all three machines I have here have already got Outlook 2002 installed, as all have their own copies of Office XP.

If you haven't got access to another machine and you have installed ActiveSync 3.7.1, it might be worth uninstalling ActiveSync 3.7.1, rebooting (that may be crucial, even though a reboot isn't asked for), then installing ActiveSync 3.7. However this is a lot of hassle and may not solve the problem.

Another thought is to hard reset the iPAQ before trying again - as you'll have to hard reset if the upgrade succeeds anyway. However, if the upgrade still fails, you'll have to recover from the hard reset - fortunately this is not too awkward if you use iPAQ Backup before the hard reset. (You can't restore a backup made with Pocket PC 2002 on Pocket PC 2003, though).

David

jellied · Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 8:03 pm Post subject:

I will try at work tomorrow to see if using a different PC helps.

However the iPAQ has never been upgraded before, the ROM image is the still the factory one and all the asset details are fine when viewed.

After completely deleting Active Sync and restalling from the CD I don't even get as far as seeing the original error message.

:x

DavidW · Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 8:56 pm Post subject:

That's great news about the asset details. Trying again at work seems like a good idea - don't forget to take the cradle and the charger with you, as the ROM updater almost certainly requires both.

Installing whatever version of ActiveSync is on the upgrade CD seems best, as that one should work. I suspect it's 3.7 rather than 3.7.1, not least because I doubt 3.7.1 was available when the CDs were produced.

David

jellied · Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 12:09 pm Post subject:

Well it worked - thanks for the suggestion, but no idea why other than the PC at work is running Win98. Even then it still reported that the power was connected, and wasn't until a comrade suggested plugging the mains charger into the cradle (didn't even know you could) that it finally went through.

So thanks again - now just got to re-install D2 and cope with WM2003 problems !

DavidW · Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 7:58 pm Post subject:

I'm so glad it worked at last. Yes, you can connect power to the cradle, and it's mandatory for a ROM upgrade - which is why I stressed in my previous post that you do need to take the charger with you. The reason for this requirement is to make sure that the batteries don't fail in the middle of the somewhat lengthy upgrade process; if they did it would most likely trash the iPAQ and require you to send it for service.

Indeed, my cradle sits next to my bed with the power connected all the time, and the USB/serial cable tied back out of the way. I synchronise my iPAQ over Wi-Fi, and on the odd occasions I synchronise over USB, I've got a USB sync and charge cable that Expansys threw in with my original purchase. In fact, I've used that sync and charge cable for ROM upgrades; it locks into the iPAQ unlike the cradle, and my cradle's connector seems a little worn. Even so, my recommendation to most people is to use the HP supplied cradle and the HP supplied charger - that way HP can't blame the non-HP cable if something went wrong.

To protect further against problems, I start with well charged batteries on the iPAQ; the upgrade process only takes about 15 minutes and runs with the backlight off. As yet more protection, I only use my main workstation to do ROM upgrades; it's connected to a UPS with sufficient runtime to keep the process going to the end even if the power fails immediately I've started. Using a laptop would have the same effect, of course - the laptop could switch to its internal battery in the event of power failure, though do make sure all the power management is disabled and do start out with the laptop connected to the mains (or a UPS if you have one) and the battery fully charged. If the laptop hibernated or suspended part way through the operation, it would almost certainly trash the iPAQ. For further protection you could move the mouse pointer every 30 seconds or so - ideally without clicking anything.

In case you're wondering why I'm such an uninterruptible power supply evangelist, my power here is awful. We have typically ten to fifteen power cuts a year, typically ranging from ten seconds to two and a half hours. I've got a rather expensive APC SmartUPS INET 1000 on the system I'm using now, which powers the main workstation, as well as all the ISDN, phone and network gear. It runs for about 25 minutes, then shuts the system down with about 5 minutes battery remaining. If I let it power down itself (it signals Windows to shut down whilst running a timer to shut down the power), it will only switch back on when power returns once the batteries have charged to 30% so that there's enough battery time left to shut down safely if the power dies again. If I catch it in time during a power cut, I tend to switch the workstation off myself after ten to fifteen minutes and leave the UPS on powering the ISDN and phone gear - without power some of my phone lines go down, as do the cordless phones.

The other PC has got a little APC BackUPS ES 500 on it - it looks a bit like an oversized four way adapter that one. That only lasts about 5 minutes before hibernating the machine, but it's good enough to prevent data loss. These are, in my opinion, well worth the 80 pounds or so they cost (the SmartUPS is over 200 pounds worth and is overkill for an average PC - unfortunately the workstation's power supply is so large at 460W that a typical single PC UPS is marginal at best). Do make sure if you buy one of these that you get a UK model - otherwise it'll have the wrong sockets on.

As to why your machine wouldn't upgrade the iPAQ, I'm a bit stumped, though I've suggested trying another machine that never had ActiveSync installed before on microsoft.public.pocketpc, and that worked too. I suspect the issue may be that ActiveSync 3.7.1 doesn't uninstall itself fully, but I could be wrong on that.

I may try downgrading my setup to ActiveSync 3.7 at some point; AudibleReader has duff RAPI programming and won't work with 3.7.1 which I currently have installed. I only discovered this when I bought a couple of Audible books last night (Audible is a nice system, but the programming is a bit ropey - you sometimes get registry errors when running other than as an Administrator on Windows XP, and there's no clue as to which keys it wants what permissions for - otherwise I'd happily grant them). At least I can listen to my books on the desktop.

Did your machine at work have Outlook installed - or am I correct in saying that Outlook isn't required for a ROM upgrade, just ActiveSync?

David (musing away, only partly on topic - sorry)

jellied · Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 9:00 pm Post subject:

A thousands thanks - back at home now with a working iPAQ5450 running WM2003 and even got Destinator2 re-installed, though I have no idea if the Garmin still works with it. Probably best left until tomorrow when I have calmed down a bit.

The desktop at work did have Outlook installed.

Thanks again.

If you have any spare time I would love to hear your views on Wi-Fi sync/connections - feel free to carry on with this thread or private message/email me?

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