How To Limit PIE's Cache Size In WM2003

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.ppcw.net/?itemid=1938' target='_blank'>http://www.ppcw.net/?itemid=1938</a><br /><br /></div><i>"One of the main causes of having insufficient memory can sometimes be attributed to a voice recording which has been long forgotten but still resides in main RAM. Sometimes it's the abundance of email attachments stored for sentimental value, and most of the time, particularly if the user uses Pocket Internet Explorer, is the large amount of Temporary Internet Files stored in folders nested deep into what seems to be oblivion...There used to be a tool for the old Pocket PC to limit the size of the cache. Sadly, this old utility no longer works for Windows Mobile 2003 based Pocket PCs. But the nice thing is, this is something which can easily be remedied by a registry hack."</i><br /><br />I've seen users ask this question many times, and I'm glad to see Carlo over at PPCW dug around and found out the answer. :) As long as you're comfortable with editing the registry (you can use a free tool like <a href="http://www.phm.lu/Products/PocketPC/RegEdit/">PHM RegEdit</a>), you might find this useful if you surf a lot on your Pocket PC.

[jgoodman]

"One of the main causes of having insufficient memory can sometimes be attributed to a voice recording which has been long forgotten but still resides in main RAM.... and most of the time, particularly if the user uses Pocket Internet Explorer, is the large amount of Temporary Internet Files stored in folders nested deep into what seems to be oblivion..."

I use Pocket Mechanic, which has an awesome "System Cleanup" function, among many other tools like repair, defrag, formatting, memory check, so many useful items. One of my "must-have" apps...

http://www.omegaone.com/PocketPC/PM.html


____________________________________
John K. Goodman - Los Angeles
http://users.cwnet.com/jgoodman/A716review/A716Review.html

[mara6]

There is an easier way to limit the size of PIE temp files. Just download Microsofts Pocket Internet Explorer Tools. It allows you to change the amount of storage available for temporary Internet files.

Download Here (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/resources/downloads/pocketpc/powertoys.mspx) (Scroll down until you get to Microsoft Internet Explorer Tools for Pocket PCs).

[Janak Parekh]

There is an easier way to limit the size of PIE temp files. Just download Microsofts Pocket Internet Explorer Tools. It allows you to change the amount of storage available for temporary Internet files.
Ah, but as the article I linked to said, that doesn't work for WM2003. :|

--janak

[mara6]

I got it to work fine... :roll:

[MobileAGBell]

MS Pocket Internet Explorer Tools works on my 4155 and 5555.

[Janak Parekh]

Go figure... I guess it differs based on which device you have. :|

Thanks for the heads-up.

--janak

[that_kid]

MS Pocket Internet Explorer Tools works on my 4155 and 5555.

Hmm that's strange, I couldn't get it to work on any of my windows mobile 2003 devices(4150,4350,5450 and 5555). It installs but you can't set the cache limit.

[MobileAGBell]

I just double checked both devices again. I can move the slider, setting the cache limit, watching the cache figure change, on both devices. I set my 4155 is set to 0.00MB and the 5555 to 4.67MB. Reset both devices and the cache figures did not change.

Any guess why it does not work on some devices?

[ppcsurfr]

I just double checked both devices again. I can move the slider, setting the cache limit, watching the cache figure change, on both devices. I set my 4155 is set to 0.00MB and the 5555 to 4.67MB. Reset both devices and the cache figures did not change.

Any guess why it does not work on some devices?

Jump into the registry and see if the figures there really change...

The registry location has also changed... so if you are setting any figures in the utility, it's setting it in some remote location which isn't being used. And since they've changed the location of the cache folder... the old utility stopped working...

Just check in the IE.5 registry settings if it does change for you... mine don't when I use the utility... also, you can check your Temporary Internet Files folder which is now relocated into another location inside the Windows Folder...

Previous PPCs,
Registry\HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Cache\Content\CacheLimit

WM 2003,
Registry\HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\Cache\Content\CacheLimit

Registry\HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\Cache\Content\PerUserItem

is set to (1) which means it is user based

Registry\HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\Cache\Content\PerUserItem

is set to (1) which seems to send it back to HKCU

-------------------------

Registry\HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Cache\Content\CacheLimit

exists but seem to have no effect on the actual cache control

IE Tools modifies the entries in Registry\HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Cache\Content\CacheLimit

If you change the values of PerUserItem from (1) to (0) which appears in two instances... one in HKCU and one in HKLM, moves the control for the cache to

Registry\HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\Cache\Content\CacheLimit

But still... even if you can set IE Tools to a value other than what is stated in the IE Tools applet... the values do not do anything. So IE Tools still will not work.

Carlo

[Pony99CA]

I've seen users ask this question many times, and I'm glad to see Carlo over at PPCW dug around and found out the answer. :)
Actually, let's give credit where it's due. :-D

Ben at PDA Corps. asked this same question in May, and I posted both the Internet Explorer Tools trick (which he said worked) and the registry hack to use if IE Tools didn't work (http://www.pdacorps.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2970&PN=1).

I'm not saying Carlo didn't discover this himself, because it's of course quite possible that we both discovered it independently. I'm not even saying that I'm the first person to ever figure this out, but I posted my hack on May 12, while Carlo posted his on June 4, over three weeks after I found the trick.

Steve

[MobileAGBell]

Using the IE Tools slider on my 5555 I set the values at 4.67MB, 7.79MB and 0.00MB. Each time I made a change, I reset the device and checked:

Registry\HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\Cache\Content\CacheLimit

The value never changed from 0xA926.

[ppcsurfr]

Using the IE Tools slider on my 5555 I set the values at 4.67MB, 7.79MB and 0.00MB. Each time I made a change, I reset the device and checked:

Registry\HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\Cache\Content\CacheLimit

The value never changed from 0xA926.

Which is the default setting of 1/3 of total RAM totalling at 43304 KB...

Carlo

[Pony99CA]

Using the IE Tools slider on my 5555 I set the values at 4.67MB, 7.79MB and 0.00MB. Each time I made a change, I reset the device and checked:

Registry\HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\Cache\Content\CacheLimit

The value never changed from 0xA926.
Which is the default setting of 1/3 of total RAM totalling at 43304 KB...
I think the question being asked is whether the hack really works. If it does, ronman's test seems to prove that it's not "sticky"; a soft reset causes the value to revert to the default.

I doubt people would want to have to hack the registry after every soft reset.

Steve

[MobileAGBell]

When I tap the Use Default box in IE Tools, the slider moves all the way to the right and the amount displays 63.21MB. But the CacheLimit value does not change. Since the registry Default value reads &lt;value not set> I wonder if a default value simply needs to be set in order to use the Use Default tap box in IE Tools. Sounds too simple.

Whatever value the slider is set to before a soft reset is performed becomes the Use Current value (when you tap the Use Current box). Again, the CacheValue does not change.

[ppcsurfr]

Okay.. Again...

IE Tools changes the value in the wrong registry entry...

It changes the entry in:
Registry\HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Cache\Content\CacheLimit - an entry not used by the current version of PIE.

The value you are looking at and need to change is:
Registry\HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\Cache\Content\CacheLimit - the entry being used by PIE in WM2003

This is the real value that counts... and can only be set to any size allowable by editing the registry.

IE Tools may reflect changes via the slider stating 4.67MB, 0.0MB or whatever you set it but it is changing the values in an unused registry entry.

My cache folder now remains in the 2MB range... because of the registry hack to the correct registry entry... this survives the soft reset.

On my 2210, IE Tools keeps on bouncing back to a fixed value...
On my 1940 IE Tools keeps the value even after a reset.

But again these are simply useless since the values IE Tools change are unused by PIE in WM2003.

Carlo

[ppcsurfr]

When I tap the Use Default box in IE Tools, the slider moves all the way to the right and the amount displays 63.21MB. But the CacheLimit value does not change. Since the registry Default value reads &lt;value not set> I wonder if a default value simply needs to be set in order to use the Use Default tap box in IE Tools. Sounds too simple.

Whatever value the slider is set to before a soft reset is performed becomes the Use Current value (when you tap the Use Current box). Again, the CacheValue does not change.

Nothing in (default)... That doesn't do anything.

It is the value in CacheLimit: which has a DWORD Value which is important...

IE Tools is accessing the wrong registry entry... the only way you can make it to work with WM2003 is to rewrite the utility to access the correct reg entry.

Carlo

[ppcsurfr]

I think the question being asked is whether the hack really works. If it does, ronman's test seems to prove that it's not "sticky"; a soft reset causes the value to revert to the default.

I doubt people would want to have to hack the registry after every soft reset.

Steve

I think he's comparing values from two different entries here...

IE Tools accesses an old registry entry which is not used by PIE in WM2003... and he is comparing those values with the values in another registry entry, the one in HKCU....

Carlo