Okay I am going to ask a series of LAME questions.

[PDANEWBIE]

Okay this is my first PDA and I got a HP Ipaq 2215 - while it has alot of cool features out of the box I realize I need more.

Now I an not up on all the expansion items and how they all work but I do know I loaded a few trial apps and all of a sudden I am out of memory. This leads to question 1) When out of "Main memory" what does the Pocket PC reffer to next is that the CF slot or is it the SD memory slot? or both? Or *Gulp* NEITHER and I can't load more than 6 apps onto this thing at any one time?

Next I was looking around and I saw SD memory 512 meg for 140 and I saw a 2 gig CF HDD for 180 If I can put it on CF then do I need to even get an SD memory?

Finally the last portion is I know eventually I would love to setup my home network to be able to have my PDA on it as well.

Currently my home network is all hardwired 10/100 Ethernet with hubs and routers. Since my PDA has bluetooth enabled - Will a simple Bluetooth hub/router work to get the PDA out to the internet or will I have to buy a WiFi card and setup a WiFi network in the house as well? (Please note WiFi might be more readily out there but the only place I would prolly use it will be at home as the only 2 big places I go are home and work and my work does not and will not have WiFi).

I am asking because I am VERY new to Bluetooth while I have heard the term thrown out there I don't know what it means.

please help me sort out what I need to do to turn my great PDA purchase into an AWESOME working machine. Please note I want to do everything from playing games, to listening to MP3's, to reading Ebooks, to keeping notes, to organizing my life and I don't want to be stuck to a 6 program installed limit.

Thanks for any direction you might be able to provide.

[PetiteFlower]

6 programs? What 6? You shouldn't be anywhere near out of memory for that....just sounds weird.

Anyway go into active sync and go to the add/remove programs thing and uncheck the box marked "install program into default installation folder. Now when you go to install programs it will give you a dialog box asking if you want to install the program into the default location. Say NO and it will give you a list of choices--main memory, built in storage, and any memory cards you have. You can pick what you like.

SOME programs need to be installed into main memory to work right. Most can go on a storage card, however if you want to do that then plan on keeping your storage card in all the time. I also suggest SD memory because you may want to get a wireless networking card and the CF cards are cheaper and easier to find.

Anyway I suggest you do some searching/reading here first; the Wireless forum will have a lot of good information about networking.

[tanalasta]

Oh dear... are you still going to call yourself pdanewbie in a year's time? :wink:

Sounds like you've gone and installed all your programs into your device's main memory (e.g. RAM). This is different to the memory provided by an external storage card and is used by your device for two things: Running programs and storing files. To check usage, click on settings, memory and see what your breakdown of program/storage memory. If the storage memory is all filled up then thats probably your problem. If that's the case, uninstall the programs and then re-install them into your storage card. (uncheck the box in activesync's add/remove programs dialogue that says install in default location) as PetiteFlower has explained above.

Most programs run just fine in a storage card. The exceptions are the PIM (e.g. PI), Mastersoft money and today plug-in's.

The 2215 has a CF and SD slot for versatality. As a rule of thumb, CF is cheaper and faster. However, many add-ons such as wi-fi/bluetooth/gps receivers are also in CF form which is why SD is also provided - in case you use your slot up for something else. If you only need external memory expansion I'd go with the CF card.

I'm not an expert on networking so you'll have to wait for someone else to reply to that ;) or do a quick search on the forums first to see if someone has asked the same question already.

Before you ask what programs you should get, there're a couple of nice threads about that suggest some programs you might want to trial ;)

[PDANEWBIE]

Thanks for the information let me just make sure I get this right -

1) SD vrs CF either can be used with "memory expansion" but CF is usually used for add in cards.

2) Don't install straight to main memory unless the program does not run correctly installed to add in memory.

---

I think that answers my first set of questions I'll dump the rest into the networking/bluetooth forum. One more question is there anything that has to be done to "initialize" the memory in the CF slots or the SD slot? Does it show up as another "drieve" or does it just show up as more memory under the file browser? I don't want to go out and get 2.5 gigs of memory in different types of cards to find out that I don't know how to use them.

[nosmohtac]

Some devices are different, but if you install an SD card it should show up as "storage card", if you then install a CF memory card, it should show up as "storage card2" from within file explorer.

If you are thinking about setting up a wireless network, I would definitely recommend getting the 512MB SD card for storing programs, and then you can leave it in all of the time. Then your CF slot is free for a wireless CF card. I'm not real familiar with the use of Bluetooth, but I know that you can buy a USB Bluetooth dongle for your desktop (or laptop) and connect through that. I'm just not positive whether you can browse the internet with it, or if you are only allowed to sync with it.

[PetiteFlower]

I wouldn't necessarily say you should install as much as possible on the storage card. Just review how big the program is and how much ram you have available before you decide. I just don't think there's any reason why 6 programs should have used up 64 megs of ram, most ppc programs range from less then 1 meg, to maybe 2.5 or 3 megs at the most. So something sounds very wrong there.

[Paula]

Next I was looking around and I saw SD memory 512 meg for 140 and I saw a 2 gig CF HDD for 180 If I can put it on CF then do I need to even get an SD memory?



Where did you find the 2gig CF HDD for 180.00???

BTW none of these questions are lame for a newbie.

Paula :)

[tanalasta]

BTW none of these questions are lame for a newbie.

True. But even i groaned when i saw the subject title and the name pdanewbie.... ;)

1) SD vrs CF either can be used with "memory expansion" but CF is usually used for add in cards.

Yes. Both cards can be used as "memory expansion". Which one you decide upon usually depends on two main factors.
Firstly - Would you need the memory slot of something else? e.g. GPS card, ethernet etc...
And how much money you have 8)

As to whether to install things onto main memory:
I prefer installing to a storage card simply because I don't have that much RAM and i like to keep multiple programs open but as you have a newer device it shouldn't matter much. However, do note that if you have to perform a hard-reset (i.e. wipe your device's memory) you'll lose everything in RAM unless you have a backup. However, since you also lose registry/shortcut/other settings stored in RAM in a hard reset you may still have to reinstall programs should this occur anyway.

Your device should automatically recognize the storage card, no-matter what format. This takes about 2-5 seconds after you turn your device on (you should't really notice unless you try to open a program on storage card right after you turn it on). As to how it shows up and is utilized, think of it as a second hard-drive :)

[Sven Johannsen]

Just to fill in some info to the other posts, Bluetooth is a low power wireless technology that is really designed as a cable replacement. The cable being replaced can be the sync cable you normally use, and as such BT can certainly be used to sync, connected via ActiveSync, and therefore to take advantage of the internet pas-through function you have as if you are sitting on the cradle.

The low power of BT comes at the price of bandwidth and range. The bandwidth might be a bit of an issue as BT is slower than WiFi, but typically faster than USB (1.x, which is all your 2215 does). Since it is built in, you would only need a decent BT dongle, USB, to hook to your PC. A decent one like Belkin or Billionton will make your life easier, as the software driver sets have a lot to do wih your experience with BT. Range is hard to guess for you. It depends a bit on the size of your place and construction, as does WiFi, but WiFi starts with higher power, and the associated lower battery life. I'd say find a BT dongle, less than $70, and you can have some wireless fun around the house. WiFi would be a greater expense starting from scratch.

WiFi does have the advantage in that you can find it in the wild, such as Starbucks, airports, book stores....your neighborhood ;), but often it requires $ub$cribing to a service.

Incidentally, I do agree with some of the other posts about 6 programs eating up the memory being fairly odd, assuming fairly standard programs. There's a freeware program out there, WIMR (Where is my RAM) that can help ferret out what is going on. Of course you may have happened onto some BIG programs.

Do be aware that the 64M of main RAM is divided into Storage and Operational space. The Storage piece is like a RAM Disk, if you remember those, that is used like a drive, but takes away from the RAM the programs have to run in. In any case, you really only have about 32M of Storage space if you want to leave enough room for decent ops response. If you haven't gathered from here yet, programs don't close unless you really close them and the X doesn't do that. It may just be that you have a ton of stuff running in the background. Go to Settings, memory, running apps, if you haven't already found a task-switcher closer. Ask about those if you don't know about them.

On the two slots, lots of good info here. Just wanted to point out that you have an SDIO slot which can support peripherals, like cameras, gps's, WiFi, etc. They are generally a bit more expensive than the same item in CF format, but then CF memory is cheaper and available in bigger sizes than SD. Just starting out, you have the option to decide whether you will go with SD peripherals and CF memory or vice-versa. Many of us have a sizable investment in CF peripherals and so naturally think in terms of SD memory. Were I to start over today, I would have to give it some serious thought. Might even depend on what memory format other things you have use. I for instance have a camera and MP3 player that use SD, so SD memory has multiple uses for me.

So, have fun, don't rush into stuff, and read everything you can here and at pocketpcpassion's boards before you jump into stuff. It'll save you $$$$.

[PetiteFlower]

I'm suspecting a memory leak, that's why I asked what programs.

[Kowalski]

I'm suspecting a memory leak, that's why I asked what programs.
might be. i have 20+ programs, all installed in main memory accept one. my dictionary database which is 7 megs but i still have lots of storage left

[rustyfancy]

Just wondering...

I have a 256 MB SD card. In my file explorer, I don't have a "Storage Card" option. Anyone have this problem?? Why isn't my PDA recognizing my storage??? PLEASE HELP !!!

--Matt

[tanalasta]

I have a 256 MB SD card. In my file explorer, I don't have a "Storage Card" option. Anyone have this problem?? Why isn't my PDA recognizing my storage??? PLEASE HELP !!!

Couple of questions before we can help you...
1. What brand of SD card are you using?
2. Does anything else read the storage card?
3. Have you tried soft-reseting your device, re-formatting/verifying the card?
4. Was the SD card working before or is it spanking new?

There's just many things that this problem could be due to :P

[Badandy]

PDANEWBIE-


Here's what you should do to gain some memory back.


-Clear Temporary Internet files (internet explorer-->tools-->options (i think) -->clear temporary internet files)
-Get Scary Bear Software notification fix. Here is the link

http://scarybearsoftware.com/ppc_cn_overview.html

Install the bottom one once you get to that page.



That should help.