HX4700 slow to start after soft reset

[David_C]

For some reason, immediately after a soft reset on my Hx4700, I have to wait 10 seconds after attempting to run a program before it will actually begin the progress.

I have waited 2-3 hours AFTER a soft reset, thinking it may be still loading files, same result. I hit the start menu button, and 10 seconds later, it is displayed.

After that initial delay, everything runs as it should, but I am not sure why it takes so long initially.

This behavior is for ANY program I attempt to run, not just something from the Start menu.

Any ideas??

Dave

[Guest979]

Unless you are using a program like WisBar Advance (or one of the many alternatives), PocketPC programs do not really close when you hit the "X." They just become essentially invisible. If you go into the list of running programs on your PPC, you can see they are still there (I'm not sure exactly where this list is on WM5).

So if you are using your PPC the "normal" way, then of course programs take longer to load the "first" time you use them, since they only actually load once. Ten seconds sounds like a bit much, although a lot of people have complained about WM5 launching speeds.

[Darius Wey]

It could also be typical VGA lag. Most VGA devices take a bit of time to kick start the rendering process. I know I see a bit of latency when I tap Start on my X50v.

[David_C]

I understand about the "programs closing" (using SE2003), and the "X", but this happens ONLY at startup. Once the start menu unfolds, everything is operating at normal speed.

It's the intial startup speed that has me wondering what the heck is going on :)

I have not thought about the VGA rednering process, in fact, never even heard of it before. Hmmm :oops:

[Nurhisham Hussein]

VGA devices have 4x the number of pixels to render compared to a QVGA device. That's why VGA devices tend to have much faster processors, graphics co-processors, and larger batteries (there's also an impact on battery life as well), to counteract the load on the processor.

Also, if you have any programs loaded to either iPaq store or a storage card, that may have an impact as well. The icons in the start menu have to be read off the executables and cached before the icons appear, so the slower the media, the longer it will take. In fact, storage card initialisation takes so long that the OS tends to time out and only show default program icons after a soft reset - either that or maybe it's because I've got too many programs on my card :lol:

[Edgar_]

Hmm, never heard the VGA thing. I don't notice a slowdown on my HX4700 compared to my E750.

The other thing is loading plugins or programs at startup for the today screen or immediate access after start.

For example, do you use PocketPlus or Breeze (or other today screen plug for weather, stocks, etc)? Do you use PIStart to pre-load PocketInformant? Have you added programs to the \windows\start menu\startup folder?

Are these loaded to a memory card? If so, you can have a lag of 3-10 seconds as the device fires up the drivers and accesses the card. (same with their icons if you have them display in a launcher that is loaded in local memory) (his thread: http://pocketpcmag.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17921 )


Also, some WM5 devices experience problems with SD cards when they come out of hibernation (power down). Do you have this problem only after a warm boot?

Tools like MemMaid and S-K-Tools might help you determine what apps are loading when and verify the registry is clean as well. You might have a corrupted registry that is attempting to load a non-exisitant driver that was uninstalled, etc


-Edgar
An after thought - you might have a corrupted memory card. Backup all the data on the card to your PC using a card reader not Activesync - then reformat the cards using Menneisyys guide to setting up you card for optimized use. Then copy the data back (if possible replace with new verified installs and data)

last thought, your local memory file store should remain at least 25% empty - numerous writeups on slow downs occur when the local memory on the device gets full.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Hmm, never heard the VGA thing. I don't notice a slowdown on my HX4700 compared to my E750.


Well, hx4700 (VGA, 624MHz CPU and ATI GPU) against E750 (QVGA, 400MHz CPU and no GPU) - the question you might want to ask is why the iPaq isn't that much faster than the e750.

[Edgar_]

my hx4700 is much more responsive than my E750 ever was. And Wifi works.

Apples and oranges difference. Now, I also have the 128Mb PocketPcTechs memory upgrade on the 4700. With all that said, games are better (albeit the touchpad for games is the suck), things like PI are faster on db searches

We do need to move away from measuring speed by Mhz on PPC as well as on desktops (you'll notice its focused on less and less). The chipsets and the add-ons is what makes the difference. For nothing more than having to do the calcs for a VGA vs a QVGA is enough to set aside some of the speed loss.

I do however, as its being shown in the WM5 forums that the HX4700 suffers from slow memory - at least it seems to point that way - that or the controller. I do not have wm5 loaded on my device until I see a consistent report back that it works well on the HX4700.

[David_C]

Thx for the suggestions everyone.

I have narrowed down the culprit to one thing :)

My SD card. With it in, 8-10 seconds for the start menu to appear after a soft reset.

No SD card, 2-3 seconds for the start menu card to appear.

Will copy everything from the card using a reader to my desktop, format the card, see if any errors appear and reload.

Dave

[Edgar_]

Dave

What are you loading from the SD card at launch? My only other worry is the SD controller itself. i just got my 4700 back from HP with an SD controller problem. I had 2 days left on my warranty and got the MB replaced, glad I didn't wait any longer to get it verified.

My symptoms were spurious dismounts of the card. For example, I'd have my maps on it and my GPS would report that they were no longer accessible - I would unclick and reclick my SD in and it would be fine.


NOTE: I have never had any issues at all with the CF. And you can get large CF cards for cheap now. I use my CF for all application/data loads and my SD is for incidentals like movies, music and backups. Additionally, if you don't have it, look into the PocketPCtechs memory upgrade to 128M - well worth it and a great company.

-Edgar_

[David_C]

I put most of my apps onto my SD card, trying to conserve on memory :)

I will give PocketPCtechs a looksee though, thx :)

I have never had any problems with my SD card(s), accessing programs etc, just the initial slow start (only once) after a soft reset.

Dave

[Edgar_]

Putting your apps on card is good, I was just suggesting you put them on CF not SD

The PPCTEchs memory upgrade provides more program space, thus allowing things to run more smoothly. This space under 2003SE can be used for local, albeit volatile, storage as well - I use only 38M of it for storage rest is program space.

I would also hold off on upgrading to WM5.

[David_C]

Why a CF card??

I took a look at the $$$ of the extra memory :) that will be in the future, how long is the turn around time?? I use my PDA constantly at work :)

I actually did upgrade to WM5, had it for 2 days and found the results very discourging :( There went $40 :) Speed was the main culprit, took forever for things to load.


Dave

[Edgar_]

Two parts. For some reason some are reporting a slowdown when using SD with WM5 (If I was you I'd downgrade - theres a big ol thread on here discussing all the problems with WM5/HX4700 - slowdowns, lockups, overall drag to use). http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=47344

Second: I have found the CF to be more stable on my HX4700, for what thats worth. And hey, the memory can usually be had for less. Here's a thread on Card problems with WM5
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44488


PocketPCtechs takes 1 day from arrival for turn around. So, theoritically if you pay for overnight it takes 3-4 days.

I live in San Francisco so UPS/Fedex ground is only 1.5 days as it is (they're in LA), so rather quick.

Note: All my experience is based on WM2003SE - I haven't seen any analysis done on the 128M upgrade with WM5

-Edgar

[David_C]

Thanks for the advice and tips :)

I did dump WM5, it lasted about 2 days, I reloaded SM2003 and have had no complaints (save one, the initial slow loading start menu after a soft reset).


Dave

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Second: I have found the CF to be more stable on my HX4700, for what thats worth. And hey, the memory can usually be had for less. Here's a thread on Card problems with WM5
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44488


I've also found that CF cards are more stable generally - not just for WM5. I've seen exactly one complaint in two years about file system corruption on a CF card, but countless problems with SD.