Windows Mobile 2003 Alarm Troubles

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.tekguru.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=308&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15&sid=781cce1315243a1877920f06c4e141f5' target='_blank'>http://www.tekguru.co.uk/phpBB2/vie...7920f06c4e141f5</a><br /><br /></div>After reading through most of <a href="http://www.tekguru.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=308&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15&sid=781cce1315243a1877920f06c4e141f5">this thread</a> and all of <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20132">this thread</a>, my head is spinning. What the heck is going on here? I've known about reminder issues since back in the Pocket PC 2002 days, but things seem to have gotten worse with Windows Mobile 2003, haven't they? Or perhaps people are simply talking about it more.<br /><br />Lately I've been using a new Pocket PC every few months, and I keep seeing the same problem over and over: erratic alarm behaviour. On my 2215 I'd have this strange issue where I'd turn on the device and the past few reminders would trigger all at once, and they'd draw very slowly on the screen. It's not strictly related to Pocket Plus as some have suggested - the above thread on Tekguru shows that many other developers are trying to tackle the issue, because it also affects their products. For Pocket Plus owners, I suggest going into the options and disabling the repeating alarm feature. This will stop Pocket Plus from interacting with the reminder functionality in any way - see if it helps. At the moment I'm using my Pocket PC with no third party software installed just to see if the situation improves at all.<br /><br />Just because I'm curious, how many of you have had alarm reminder problems with Windows Mobile 2003, regardless of what third party software you've installed?

[entropy1980]

I am having similar or I would say worse problems with WM2k3.... both my Ipaq 2215, and my 4150 exhibit the same behavior...erratic alarms and the same thing Jason describes turning it on and getting a bunch of past missed alarms slowly being drawn onscreen....

[Rob Borek]

I've seen it as well, though I'm not sure exactly what the cause is - it seems to get better after a soft reset.

[Thinkingmandavid]

Pocket plus is working great on my Toshiba e355. I am able to use the repeating alarms without any problems at all. If anything, Ikeep using the snooze button :mrgreen:

I am glad developers are working on it, but actually jason it should be microsoft fixing the problem and not 3rd parties :!: :evil:
It is such a small detail that ms should have taken care already, it has become a big issue because it doesnt work right.
It is assumed when you get a ppc that you are going to use it for day planning and part of the day planning process is ALARMS :!: :!:

NOw I wonder if Bill Gates even uses a ppc and if he does, is HIS ALARMS WORKING :evil: :evil:

[Ed Hansberry]

All of my problems were with Pocket Plus before the latest rev that was put out in July, and I don't user repeating alarms. Once I installed that to my 2215, all has been fine.

[kiwi]

I had similar problems - turn on Ipaq and see alarms I have missed..

I'm back to using my Cell phone (T610) alarm for my wake up call.

b

[gorkon280]

Sometimes....Alarms work. Othertimes when I REALLY need the reminder, it craps out and they all pop when I turn it on. It did some how get better after the XIP ROM upgrade on my 5555. Overall I have been impressed. I wish WM2003 would ALWAYS have a way to turn on and off the WiFi. After a soft reset or a extended period away from the WiFi, I have to turn it on with te HP app. Anyway, according to thw XIP update it fixed the iPaq backup automation not waking up. Don't know...have not tried it yet. Overall though, there are some bugs that ARE back that were gone in 2002. Bill....we like features, but don't work on those "COOL" features at the expense of "BASIC" features.

[Terry]

I've given up on alarms on my iPaq 5555. Still using Pocket Plus though.
FixAlarm didn't.

[patwoods]

I missed enough meetings to cause me to sell my Dell and go back to Palm. Shame it isn't the manufacturer's fault, it's the platform. I can't afford to miss anything else. As much as I liked playing with my PPC, Palms 'just work'.

Maybe when (if) Microsoft gets the simple stuff worked out I will come back. The hardware is cool but the OS leaves much to be desired. As much as I depend on my handheld to keep me organized and prepared, the PocketPC platform let me down in ways I never imagined.

[kennyg]

I've had this problem as well, but ONLY when I have my 802.11b (a symbol card) in the CF slot. If I remove the card alarms work normally. And if I have alarms pending and turn the device on manually, the alarms display as if the device wake up was interfered with by the card.

[buckyg]

Alarms are pretty unreliable on both of the WM2003 machines in our family. It appears to be random: Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Haven't taken a lot of time to try to pin it down, I just want it to work.

What do I do to get around it? I use ATAlarm:
http://www.atechware.com/products.htm#ATAlarm

I hadn't tried their FixAlarm product, but this program does work consistently for me.

[Iznot Gold]

I know that this thread is about alarms with PPC2003, and I'm still using an Ipaq 3870 with PPC 2002 but I just wanted to show a littel empathy with those people experiencing the prob with PPC2003. I had this problem about 6 months ago.....it drove me mad.....I mean really angry! I have a lot of appointments every day and the primary function of my PPC is time management and meeting reminders so when it was not work I ws really frustrated!!!
Now its working fine...no probs at all...it healed itself! Well I have upgraded both AF and Battery Pack (both of which I believe interact with the alarm/reminder function so I now ascribe the problems that I was experiencing down to the ways in which one or both of them interacted with the reminder function. Any how...I hope you guys find a solution soon cos the prob is maddening - especially when you fire up your PPC in a meeting, to enter or check data and half a dozen reminders fire off one after the other!
Best wishes
David

[huangzhinong]

I never have any alarm problem in my H2215 and h1945, once I followed below procedures.

1. Apply the ipaq backup patch and enable schedularing.
If your schdularing backup can't power up your devices at all, alarm won't work either.

2. Apply the wm03fix.exe from German author.
I tried a lot of patch, including scarbeary and pocket plus 2003 fix, only this one works consistantly, plus it is only 7kb.

3. set alarm or appointment, don't turn off your screen or close the application until 20 sec. I never turn off my device at all since I set turn off automatically in 1 minute.

4. I am using the latest verion pocket plus 1.3(the earlies verion 1.3 has serious bug).

Once you tried these steps, I believe you won't have any alarm trouble. It's not one time that I found people don't like the ipaq backup at all so they are not willing to apply the patch.

[element]

I'm not sure if this is by design or what, but if I have my password set to lock my device, alarm sounds will not play while the PDA is locked. Not sure if this is related.

[jngold_me]

I used Pocket Plus on my 1910 and did not have any problem with alarms. Now moving over to the 4150, Pocket Plus no longer provides the wake up and repeating alarms. I have since disabled it and I am now trying SuperAlert (Trial).

[KiLLiN-TiMe]

The key to getting the alarms to function properly in 2003 are as follows for an HP 2200!

1. Go to http://www.spritesoftware.com and download the update for the IPAQ backup program.

2. Schedule the backup software to backup daily just after midnight. and do NOT enable the battery monitor.

Thats it. I believe the key is waking up the ipaq each night so that all of your alarms load properly. What ever the issue is this has worked for me. It should work for you too!

[mace]

I had similar problems - turn on Ipaq and see alarms I have missed..

I'm back to using my Cell phone (T610) alarm for my wake up call.

b

I use this setup as well. It's ashame that I cannot trust my PPC for this basic function. This doesn't just affect reminders, but alarms as well.

[trevleyb]

I have found that alarms will only work correctly when my iPaq 5550 is on mains power. As oon as I plug my 5550 into the mains, it will trun on and give all the lovely reminders that have triggered since I last used it.

[szamot]

I am at loss for words, my upgraded 5450 is schitzo and that's the way things are. Alarms will most likely never work properly so I use my phone to wake me up. ...so what's a $600 PDA good for then?!

[JustinGTP]

I have the same problems, and once I noticed my alarms did not go off, so I turned on my Device and then typed in the passwords and "bling bling bling bling de de de de de bling bling bling" all of my alarms came on, but all went of the screen instantaneoulsy.

This is wierd, sometimes they dont go on at all, or soemtimes they are fine! Is this maybe because of the password? I have alarm clocks so this isnt a big issue for me, it is just more of a baffling problem that I want to see get fixed!

-Justin.

[mattchapin]

I've had alarm problems no matter what software I've installed. (I've tried just about everything except drinking a glass of water upside down to get this problem to go away.)

I have a Toshiba e755... no software for scheduled backups, so that's not an option.

This is the sort of bug that I'd expect to see fixed with a patch shortly after the release of WM2003. Seeing as that hasn't happened yet, I doubt it will... until WM2004. Was it Windows Me, or 98 that was advertised as "the end of the Blue Screen of Death"?

It pisses me off that MS would have the gall to assume we want to PAY FOR improved reliability. It's like they're saying "Boy, we got you good last time, didn't we. Buy this upgrade... it's what you wanted in the first place. Honest!"

Could you imagine an ad from Ford, "The 2004 models are on dealer lots now! Buy one, and the transmission problems you've had with your 2003 Ford will be a thing of the past!"

Ugh.

Sorry for the rant.

Right now what's keeping me with PPC is the ability to use Windows Media Batch Encoder to convert Mpeg2 files of TV shows directly to files I can play on the PocketPC. Kinoma (for Palm) won't read Mpeg2 directly, and I'm not willing to put up with a 2-step conversion process.

So a few possible scenarios for this spring:

1. I switch back to Palm when Kinoma Producer can read Mpeg2's, or the bugs are worked out of MMPlayer, or some other software Mpeg2 option comes on the scene

2. I get a new WM2004 device if the alarm bugs are fixed

3. I keep my existing PPC until #1 or #2 above...

(Note the absence of hope regarding a WM2003 bug fix update.)

Matt

[ikesler]

I am also having the problem on my 4155...........
I was using both SuperAlert and PocketPlus on my last device, a 1910. But with my new Ipaq I have had to remove PocketPlus and disable SuperAlert in order to get my repeating alarms, stock OS, to work correctly.
Now they do work, but it seems there is no rhyme or reason to why they do or don't work for anyone!
Different devices, different programs........ still having problems........
Very strange and extremely frustrating!

[maneufeld1]

Jason Dunn,
Thanks for the story. Clearly there's a problem with the reliable firing/sounding of alarms/reminders on devices running ms mobile 2003. on top of what this story has already done to shed some light on this issue, what do you suggest that we do push Microsoft/HP/Tosheba/etc to fix this problem. It appears to be a Microsoft problem, but maybe hardware venders will also assist in fixing this.
This is outrageous considering that reliable alarms/reminders are quintessential to having a worthwhile PDA.
Did I already write that this is outrageous?

[PR.]

No alarm problems for me, have an upgraded HP 5450 to WM2003, all works fine, I don't have Pocket Plus installed

[shawnc]

Don't have the problem anymore. After missing two appointments, I stopped using my Axim for alarms :evil: !

[maneufeld1]

Perhaps Microsoft is aware of the problem, respects its seriousness, and is working hard on a service pack (EUU) as I type this.
Damn, i am funny.
Then again, how hard could it be to have a reliable alarm/reminder on these high-tech devices???

[huangzhinong]

I have found that alarms will only work correctly when my iPaq 5550 is on mains power. As oon as I plug my 5550 into the mains, it will trun on and give all the lovely reminders that have triggered since I last used it.

This is a typical example with no ipaq backup patch or not enabling schdularing backup. Your device can't even power on at the correct time.

[toxostoma]

I believe the key is waking up the ipaq each night so that all of your alarms load properly. What ever the issue is this has worked for me. It should work for you too!

This statement interests me simply because of past behavior I've noticed...

Old PPC OS versions turned the PDA on at midnight. I remember my iPAQ 3600 would turn on and stay on until the device shut itself off according to the default time set to turn off without use... An Audiovox Maestro that I used for a while running PPC 2002 would come on at midnight and then immediately turn itself off.

My new iPAQ 1945 doesn't turn on at midnight. I've watched several times. It stays turned off.

What I'm wondering is if the alarms were getting set - being added to some queue - at midnight when the PDA turned on, but now, under WM2003, it's not happening cause the PDA doesn't turn on.

I don't use alarms (never really needed to yet) so I couldn't say either way if I have the problem.

[KiLLiN-TiMe]

I believe the key is waking up the ipaq each night so that all of your alarms load properly. What ever the issue is this has worked for me. It should work for you too!

This statement interests me simply because of past behavior I've noticed...

Old PPC OS versions turned the PDA on at midnight. I remember my iPAQ 3600 would turn on and stay on until the device shut itself off according to the default time set to turn off without use... An Audiovox Maestro that I used for a while running PPC 2002 would come on at midnight and then immediately turn itself off.

My new iPAQ 1945 doesn't turn on at midnight. I've watched several times. It stays turned off.

What I'm wondering is if the alarms were getting set - being added to some queue - at midnight when the PDA turned on, but now, under WM2003, it's not happening cause the PDA doesn't turn on.

I don't use alarms (never really needed to yet) so I couldn't say either way if I have the problem.


My buddy at work has a 1930 and we did the same thing. His alarms now work as well.

[racerx]

I have not had a problem with reminder alarms, but I have tried using AlarMe (the upgraded version to support WM2003) and pTravelAlarm as my daily alarm clock. My wakeup alarm goes off about 4 out of 5 days, but there is no pattern to be predictable in any way.

This is definately a Microsoft coding problem, as it happens consistently on many WM2003 devices. It would be VERY nice if Microsoft were to step up to the plate and acknoledge this and fix it. Cuz its ANNOYING!

[h3seaking]

http://www.scarybearsoftware.com/ppc_cn_overview.html

Best of all, it is free.

[rud56789]

Does anyone know if the scarybear is the same or different fix that is built into pocket plus as "2003 startup fix"?

[dequardo]

I never have any alarm problem in my H2215 and h1945, once I followed below procedures.

1. Apply the ipaq backup patch and enable schedularing.
If your schdularing backup can't power up your devices at all, alarm won't work either.

2. Apply the wm03fix.exe from German author.
I tried a lot of patch, including scarbeary and pocket plus 2003 fix, only this one works consistantly, plus it is only 7kb.

3. set alarm or appointment, don't turn off your screen or close the application until 20 sec. I never turn off my device at all since I set turn off automatically in 1 minute.

4. I am using the latest verion pocket plus 1.3(the earlies verion 1.3 has serious bug).

Once you tried these steps, I believe you won't have any alarm trouble. It's not one time that I found people don't like the ipaq backup at all so they are not willing to apply the patch.

I agree with this assessment but am curious about why, in your opinion, the pocket plus 1.3 fix does not work in item #2?

Mike

[JustinGTP]

http://www.scarybearsoftware.com/ppc_cn_overview.html

Best of all, it is free.


Thanks a lot for that, definately useful!

-Justin.

[huangzhinong]

I never have any alarm problem in my H2215 and h1945, once I followed below procedures.

1. Apply the ipaq backup patch and enable schedularing.
If your schdularing backup can't power up your devices at all, alarm won't work either.

2. Apply the wm03fix.exe from German author.
I tried a lot of patch, including scarbeary and pocket plus 2003 fix, only this one works consistantly, plus it is only 7kb.

3. set alarm or appointment, don't turn off your screen or close the application until 20 sec. I never turn off my device at all since I set turn off automatically in 1 minute.

4. I am using the latest verion pocket plus 1.3(the earlies verion 1.3 has serious bug).

Once you tried these steps, I believe you won't have any alarm trouble. It's not one time that I found people don't like the ipaq backup at all so they are not willing to apply the patch.

I agree with this assessment but am curious about why, in your opinion, the pocket plus 1.3 fix does not work in item #2?

Mike

I don't know Mike, I applied pocket plus wm2003 fix, but still has problem. So I uncheck it and install the german fix, works perfect. Maybe it's just my experience.

[Andy Roberts]

Hmmmm how funny. (not haa haaa funny)

I install that german startup app and everythings perfect.
Not a single alarm, backlight, sound problem.
I still stroke my 2210 with happiness (Erhem with the stylus).

[griph]

I had several problems initially - alarms not waking machine and sounding, machine switching it self of seconds after I switched it on.
These have all been resolved since following the advice on Spritesoftware's web site for issues with 2210 WM2003/iPaq Back-up and Pocket Backup. I have also disabled Battery Monitor in iPaq Backup.

Quote from website:

"Scheduled backups do not occur at the specified time, but rather occur the next time I turn on my Pocket PC after the scheduled time. Also, my device sometimes switches itself off when I have the battery monitor enabled. Why?

This problem is caused by an incompatibility between certain versions of Pocket Backup and iPAQ Backup and the Pocket PC operating system 'Windows Mobile 2003'. We currently only have available a patch for the version of iPAQ Backup that comes in ROM for HP iPAQ devices. If you have one of these devices, you can rectify the problem by performing the following steps -

1. Disable both 'Scheduled Backup' and 'Battery Monitored Backup' in iPAQ Backup.

2. Download the updated version of the file 'SpriteWakeUpService.exe'. This file is available from our website in compressed 'zip' format here...

3. Extract 'SpriteWakeUpService.exe' from the 'zip' file. You can either use a commercially-available zip tool such as 'WinZip', or if you are using the 'Windows XP' operating system you can browse the zip file as though it were an ordinary folder.

4. Copy this file to the 'Windows' folder on your Pocket PC. You can use the 'Explore' tool in ActiveSync to acheive this. You will need to overwrite the existing file when prompted. Please note that you cannot overwrite this file using the 'File Explorer' on the Pocket PC as it has safeguards to prevent files in ROM from being overwritten in this manner.

5. You should now be able to perform Scheduled Backups and Battery Monitored backups.

A patch for other versions of Pocket Backup will be released shortly.
"

[jbachandouris]

I have an upgraded 5455 (WM2003). I just bought it (refurb) a few weeks ago, so I don't know if my unit has the problem. I upgraded the Pocket Backup software ($10) and installed their wake up patch. I don't have back-ups scheduled. How would I test my Ipaq to see if its affected?

[tmulli]

I also have problems with alarms. Much more so with WM2003 vs PPC2002. At first, I thought it was Pocket Informant causing the problems, but it seems to be the OS itself. Very disappointing. Yesterday, I had to deal with the same alarm *6* times!! It didn't matter if I set a time to 'snooze it' or dismissed it, within the next half hour, it would pop-up again!! It's alarm SPAM!! I wouldn't use them except for my poor memory :?

[zafer akcali]

Here is my method that works %100. I Have an Asus A620, WM2003

1. Download and setup the "notification checker" program from http://www.scarybearsoftware.com/ppc_cn_overview.html
2. Use that program whenever you made a change on alarm settings.
3. Simply press "clear" in the "notification checker" program

That's it. Problem gone!! Your notification always be done!

Note1: This program updates notifications. It doesn't always clear meaningless notifications. You will see that sometimes, it adds your "alarm setting" to notification list.
Note2: Alarm problems still occurs if you only set-up "Notification-clear fix" program which automatically executed after hard-reset.
So you must execute "notification check" program described above.


Dr. Zafer Akcali
Baskent University Medical Faculty
Ankara, TURKEY

[zafer akcali]

Here is my method that works %100. I Have an Asus A620, WM2003

1. Download and setup the "notification checker" program from http://www.scarybearsoftware.com/ppc_cn_overview.html
2. Use that program whenever you made a change on alarm settings.
3. Simply press "clear" in the "notification checker" program

That's it. Problem gone!! Your notification always be done!

Note1: This program updates notifications. It doesn't always clear meaningless notifications. You will see that sometimes, it adds your "alarm setting" to notification list.
Note2: Alarm problems still occurs if you only set-up "Notification-clear fix" program which automatically executed after hard-reset.
So you must execute "notification check" program described above.


Dr. Zafer Akcali
Baskent University Medical Faculty
Ankara, TURKEY

[Rex]

Perfect,

AlarmToday counted 500 alarms on my iPaq 2210. After a hard reset (because of AlarmToday) i only had 19 left ...

Now I know why.

[Jason Lee]

I am now using the german "hotfix" and it works wonderfully.
I also have pocket plus installed and was trying to figure out what exactly the 2003 startup fix feature does. I had it enabled and rebooted alot. The notification database got over 56 entries in it when i gave up and disabled pocket plus's "fix" and went back to the german one. Now i only have 8 entires.

So can any of you SPB soft people out there tell me exactly what yous guy's 2003 startup fix does. It didn't seem to do anything for me that i could tell. I have a 2215.

Thank you! :D

[dprothero]

My Dell Axim X3 won't do alarms unless it is turned on. Pretty useless. Software fixes and patches are just bandaids.

My various Palms ALWAYS worked and saved my butt on multiple occassions reminding me of appts. I had completely forgotton about, so I'm switching back to Palm.