iPAQ hx4700 ROM upgrade - without reinstalling any apps after

[Menneisyys]

Unfotunately, ROM upgrades also mean the need for reinstalling all your apps and applying all your settings, which, in many cases, means days (!) of (futile, because it's not needed if a proper hack is used) work. This is why I have been investigating a lot of ROM upgrades to greatly ease this task by just enabling restoration of previous, pre-ROM-upgrade backups and just applying a registry / Windows CE database update. Please read http://www.firstloox.org//forums/showthread.php?t=3585 and the related threads (I've linked quite a few of other threads from my article - you may want to read them all to get a picture of how this all works) on this - I, as a programmer & hacker, have elaborated in there on why this is sufficient and why this is safe. (BTW, hundreds or even thousands of people are using my Pocket Loox upgrade hacks. Noone has run into any problems as yet.)

1, backup the contents of your PDA with the built-in iPAQ Backup. Make sure you back up to a memory card and not to the iPAQ File Store - the latter gets erased during the ROM upgrade!

2, save the contents of your iPAQ File Store (saving right the root directory and all subdirectories) in the way described at, say, http://pocketpcmag.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=15577

3, upgrade the ROM

4, restore the contents of the iPAQ File Store (see bullet 2)

5, restore the iPAQ Backup backup (see bullet 1). Ignore the warning.

6, download the ZIP file at http://menneisyys.freeweb.hu/hx4700RegImport/hx4700RegImportVer2.zip . Decompress it.

7a, if you prefer Resco's apps, download and install Resco File Explorer, followed by Resco Registry Editor, from http://www.resco.net/pocketpc/explorer/default.asp . Upload resco.reg (ignore tre.reg!) on your PDA (for example, in the root directory).

7b, if you prefer free apps (even if Resco's trial version will work OK), get Tascal Registry Editor from http://pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php?soft=92 and install it. Upload tre.reg (ignore resco.reg!) in the root of your PDA.

8. start Pocket File Explorer on your PDA and go to the .reg file you've just put there. Click it.

9, if everything is OK, you'll see a message that the registry file has been successfully imported.

Please note (the usual disclaimer stuff): much as I've spent several hours of my life on this hack and I know pretty much about how the Registry and Windows CE/Windows Mobile works, there may still be errors in it (synchonizing registries, Windows CE databases etc. isn't very easy.) They, however, highly unlikely cause any serious problems. Several European hx4700 owners have been testing my hack for some hours and none of them reported any problems with it so far. I'm in no way liable to any freezes, crashes etc. you'll encounter.

Also, please report if you run into something special or strange!

The only strange thing we've run into after restoring a previous backup was that Snails 2 and WMP10 used Landscape in the opposite direction. I haven't had the time, as yet, to check out why this happened.

Note that there is no difference in the Windows CE databases. (I've checked.) This is why no database-related updates are needed.

For hackers and tech geeks, it's really worth checking out keys like HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DirectX (DirectX before WM5? Great!) and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Widcomm\Plugin\HandsFree: at last, a working handsfree solution, with the PDA being the handsfree ? Cool! See http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=115458 on this problem if interested.

[jmirabil]

Your solution has worked well! I still may go back to ver 1.00 ROM since my Mugen 4500mah battery is not fuly seen under 1.10.08.

To the point...thanks! It is absurd to have to "reinstall-it-all" like HP says you do. I actually noticed that after I went from 1.00 to 1.10.08, then loading all my apps--THEN doing your procedure twice:

once with no registry update
then
a second time(from a backup) with registry update.

The reg update wiped out a few registrations--like for my Resco 5.13 and a few others but I saw no other problems that I could detect.

So contrary to whatever HP/others besides yousay, you CAN overlay a 1.00 final backup on the 1.10 ROM with the registry update--or even without?

Any major concerns about NOT doing the registry update? (ignoring steps 6 7 and 8?) if you don't respond here, assuming you have the time, you can respond to my direct email address at the bottom of this post, just remove the second @ sign to protect me from spambots

Secondly,

DirectX and Handsfree on the pocketpc registry? you mentioned

"at last, a working handsfree solution, with the PDA being the handsfree ?" but I don;t seethe solution, or can I figure it out from that reference..."See http://discussion.brighthand.com/sh...threadid=115458 on this problem if interested"

I have tried many ways to get this telephony handsfree-pda to work [like data does] as my "pda and phone nirvana" with my hx4700 and Verizon/Motorola V710 (phone is more the issue there)--especially since programs like Skype work so well with ip telephony, and the hx4700 has a speaker and microphone in just the right positions to make it usable naturally as a phone with a BT audio-gateway on a fully BT-capable phone. So in summary, pda-to-ppc Bluetooth two-way connects work for data, but not for voice telephony... what a shame. I would like to work on this project, and I'm learning all I can on it...

Great job... you motivated me to try some new backup solutions for my hx4700 and once again, what I'm told to not do by the big wigs at HP does indeed work, and work well.
-Jonathan [jonathan_mirabile@@hotmail.com]

[Menneisyys]

So contrary to whatever HP/others besides yousay, you CAN overlay a 1.00 final backup on the 1.10 ROM with the registry update--or even without?

Yes, if you upgrade the registry.

- there are no differences between the WinCE databases (checked)
- there are no differences between the RAM-based systems programs (for example, \Windows and \Windows\Startup)
- therefore, it's only at flash ROM (which isn't overwritten, unless you had the RAM-based HP sound fix installed when you made the backup) and the registry that they differ.

The registry is really different between the two ROM versions. Most of the new reg. keys are related to the new functionality (for example, DRM) or WMP10 (feel free to look in the registry file - it's human-readable and the regkey names speak for themselves). Furthermore, all version numbers of system programs are stored in the Registry - therefore, you'll see the old version numbers of the otherwise (in ROM) physically upgraded apps if you don't upgrade the Registry.

Therefore, it's highly recommended that you update the registry. A lot of new WMP10 functionality won't work or, at least, will have problems if you don't do it.

Any major concerns about NOT doing the registry update? (ignoring steps 6 7 and 8?) if you don't respond here, assuming you have the time, you can respond to my direct email address at the bottom of this post, just remove the second @ sign to protect me from spambots

See as above. I also recommend the thread at http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=118359 on this stuff. That thread is more technical, but there're a lot of information there too.

[Menneisyys]

So in summary, pda-to-ppc Bluetooth two-way connects work for data, but not for voice telephony... what a shame.

Did you also test it with the new ROM, after applying my registry upgrade?

It's not guaraneteed to work - this is why I used the question mark in my question. I just hoped it would work because of the new reg. key.

[Menneisyys]

As far as WMP10 functionality without and with my reg. upgrade is concerned, iPAQ HQ user Chemong has just posted some relevant info on it at http://www.ipaqhq.com/forums/showthread.php?p=85044 :


Thanks!

Thanks, after installing the ROM update and restoring my software with Sprite Premium, Windows Media Player 10 wouldn't work. I installed the hack you provided and WMP10 seems to work now.

Thanks"

[Menneisyys]

As far as WMP10 functionality without and with my reg. upgrade is concerned, iPAQ HQ user Chemong has just posted some relevant info on it at http://www.ipaqhq.com/forums/showthread.php?p=85044 :


Thanks!

Thanks, after installing the ROM update and restoring my software with Sprite Premium, Windows Media Player 10 wouldn't work. I installed the hack you provided and WMP10 seems to work now.

Thanks"

Another reference: http://www.ipaqhq.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17684

[jmirabil]

Two problems with the reg patch seem to be:

1) Resco Explorer "unregistered" itself.... I'll reload that tonight...

2)Trying to downlload a podcast from dave's ipaq # 05192005 [at http://davesipaq.com/archive.php?c=22&type=n] resulted in an inability to save the 22mb file anywhere that I have verified has enough sapce beforehand--locations tried are to Main Memory, SD card, CF card nor ipaq filestore. The rest works well...

Ideas? -Jonathan

[Menneisyys]

Two problems with the reg patch seem to be:

1) Resco Explorer "unregistered" itself.... I'll reload that tonight...

Several users have reported this; it may depend on something that the ROM upgrade modifies because I keep all its registry entries. Or, it has a bit too advanced copy protection mechanism ;)

2)Trying to downlload a podcast from dave's ipaq # 05192005 [at http://davesipaq.com/archive.php?c=22&type=n] resulted in an inability to save the 22mb file anywhere that I have verified has enough sapce beforehand--locations tried are to Main Memory, SD card, CF card nor ipaq filestore. The rest works well...

Ideas? -Jonathan

Dunno... did it save before the upgrade? Did you try alternative downloading methods?

[Menneisyys]

Two problems with the reg patch seem to be:

1) Resco Explorer "unregistered" itself.... I'll reload that tonight...

Several users have reported this; it may depend on something that the ROM upgrade modifies because I keep all its registry entries. Or, it has a bit too advanced copy protection mechanism ;)

I've elaborated on this a little more and am pretty sure that Resco also checks the ROM version number to combat cases where an already installed and registered copy is put on another device. That is, Resco must be re-registered upon restoration from under a previous ROM version.

[DavesiPAQ]

Jonathan I am sorry you are having problems.. I will send up an email over to the folks at Resco and see what the scoop is.. I know they listen to the cast and see if they have run into the same problem


Two problems with the reg patch seem to be:

1) Resco Explorer "unregistered" itself.... I'll reload that tonight...

2)Trying to downlload a podcast from dave's ipaq # 05192005 [at http://davesipaq.com/archive.php?c=22&type=n] resulted in an inability to save the 22mb file anywhere that I have verified has enough sapce beforehand--locations tried are to Main Memory, SD card, CF card nor ipaq filestore. The rest works well...

Ideas? -Jonathan

[Fuego]

Just to note that it is not all sweetness and light for me. Followed the procedure. ROM Update went through ok, restored backup fine, performed registry import and the did soft reset - the hx4700 freezes on the ROM start-up screen. Only way out is to hard reset.

Followed the procedure through twice now and same result every time.

[Darius Wey]

So is your device functional now, or is it consistently playing up on the startup screen?

[Fuego]

Hi Darius. It's stuck on the Blue and White "+HP iPAQ Pocket PC/HP Invent" start-up screen, just before the thin progress bar appears.

Only way to get it back is to hard reset. If I hard-reset, I get it back and working, but then of course I am back to a clean 1.10 ROM without the Backup restore. Doing the restore again, with or without the reg changes, puts it right back to this stuck-at-start-up-screen state.

I have tried restoring from a different backup that I did a day before - same thing. Also tried re-flashing it with a fresh ROM download. So I guess I am looking at a full re-install of all apps.

[Fuego]

I am trying out a few things, to see if I can narrow-down where the problem is. So far, I have found that if I restore everything from the pre-upgrade backup, except the registry then the PPC will start-up ok.

However, if I do this, and then try to run iPAQ Backup to try restoring the registry on its own (having restored everything else separately), iPAQ Backup says that the installation is invalid and it cannot run.

I can restore everything except the registry and the Windows folder and its sub-folders and the PPC will start and iPAQ Backup will also run up ok. So, the conclusion so far (as is expected) is that something in the Backup registry and in the Backup Windows folder is not compatible with the new 1.10 ROM image.

Anyone know if it is possible to re-flash back to the original ROM image please? I'd like to try going back, restoring and checking that everything is ok, before looking to see if I can simplify my set-up a bit and trying this procedure again.

[Darius Wey]

Sorry I couldn't reply a little earlier. I was backlogged.

Reading through your posts, it appears as though you're attempting a cross-ROM backup/restore? Generally, this shouldn't be done as it can cause problems similar to what you are experiencing now. The best thing to do is to perform a hard reset and to reinstall all your applications from scratch.

Now if you want to revert back to the original ROM, you can - as long as HP has made it available on their downloads site.

[Fuego]

Thanks for your reply Darius. I realise that this is your own position on cross-ROM backup/restores and I fully understand the issues associated with trying to achieve this, but really this was the whole point of this thread ;)

Unfotunately, ROM upgrades also mean the need for reinstalling all your apps and applying all your settings, which, in many cases, means days (!) of (futile, because it's not needed if a proper hack is used) work. This is why I have been investigating a lot of ROM upgrades to greatly ease this task by just enabling restoration of previous, pre-ROM-upgrade backups and just applying a registry / Windows CE database update.

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to be rude, nor am I whining that this procedure did not work for me - I just felt that if it had any mileage in it it was worth a go.

I had a quick look on the HP site and the 1.0 ROM appears to be only available in French, German, or Spanish.

Anyway, I think I am resigned to having to perform the upgrade the long way.

I also felt it was worth posting on this thread to note that the suggested cross-ROM backup/restore procedure does not just have 100% success posters tagged onto the thread, so that other people can make up their mind as to whether it is worth attempting.

Cheers.

[Darius Wey]

Thanks for your reply Darius. I realise that this is your own position on cross-ROM backup/restores and I fully understand the issues associated with trying to achieve this, but really this was the whole point of this thread ;) Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to be rude, nor am I whining that this procedure did not work for me - I just felt that if it had any mileage in it it was worth a go.

Okay, ready for a laugh? I'll admit that over the past day, I never read the previous page of posts, which is why I lost track of what this thread was all about. Sigh, if only I had known... :oops: :lol: :bangin:

[Menneisyys]

However, if I do this, and then try to run iPAQ Backup to try restoring the registry on its own (having restored everything else separately), iPAQ Backup says that the installation is invalid and it cannot run.

Either the backup program or the destination media may have failed during registry saving; this is why it complains of the backup file's registry section being invalid (at least this is how I interpret the error message). That is, your backup file is corrupted and most likely can't be restored.

Where did you initially backup your device's content to? Are you sure nothing wrong happened during the backup procedure?

[Fuego]

Yep, I'm positive Menn - I had two backups, plus I found the original 1.009 ROM on ftp://ftp.hp.com (it's SP29741.exe for the English version) and I have successfully re-flashed and restored from the backup.

Everything is completely back to normal as it was prior to the attempted upgrade.

Most likely there is some tweak in my set-up that has caused problems. For example, my "CF Card" is renamed "Storage Card" in the registry and I store mail attachments on it. It's also a 4GB card. I also have some system DLLs and extra fonts stored and configured on the "iPAQ File Store".

However, I took all precautions prior to the restore by manually applying the tweaks that I felt were necessary. For example, my backup would not restore error free until I had renamed the CF Card to Storage Card. I do know my way around the technology pretty well, so I doubt that it was anything obvious - although 20 years in the software industry has taught me not to take anything for granted. :)

I may just try again, after I have de-tweaked my setup, but probably not for a couple of days :D

And yeah, I did get a little chuckle out of your response Darius - somehow I thought that's what had happened, lol.

[coachdeb]

OK, I'm ready to try the upgrade per your instructions at the beginning of this thread, but I have a really big question: in steps number 6/7, you say to install Resco/Tascal programs to edit the registry... the moment I connect my Ipaq to my pc to install the apps you've suggested, my existing partnership is gonna go byebye (ActiveSync won't reuse it, but it'll still be left untouched on the desktop computer). Do you have a suggestion as to how to prevent this or, better yet, once the upgrade and registry hacks are complete, restore the old partnership?

Maybe this

Step 2a. rename your partnership from "Pocket_PC My Documents" to "Pocket_PC My Documents-preupgrade".

Steps 3...9 etc.

Step 10. Stop ActiveSync, delete the new partnership, rename the old partnership back to "Pocket_PC My Documents", then start ActiveSync to get everything back.

Would that maybe work???

Thanks for all the help and I'm ready to try it once I understand this last time saver.

-DEB-
ex-Casio E125 user from DAY ONE, still in service and using the original batteries from 5 years ago!!!!

[Menneisyys]

OK, I'm ready to try the upgrade per your instructions at the beginning of this thread, but I have a really big question: in steps number 6/7, you say to install Resco/Tascal programs to edit the registry... the moment I connect my Ipaq to my pc to install the apps you've suggested, my existing partnership is gonna go byebye (ActiveSync won't reuse it, but it'll still be left untouched on the desktop computer). Do you have a suggestion as to how to prevent this or, better yet, once the upgrade and registry hacks are complete, restore the old partnership?

Maybe this

Step 2a. rename your partnership from "Pocket_PC My Documents" to "Pocket_PC My Documents-preupgrade".

Steps 3...9 etc.

Step 10. Stop ActiveSync, delete the new partnership, rename the old partnership back to "Pocket_PC My Documents", then start ActiveSync to get everything back.

Would that maybe work???

Thanks for all the help and I'm ready to try it once I understand this last time saver.

-DEB-
ex-Casio E125 user from DAY ONE, still in service and using the original batteries from 5 years ago!!!!

Welcome to the board :)

First, you don't need to postpone giving your PDA an ActiveSync name after you restored the 1.10 difference registry. It affects only few keys and the device name isn't one of them.

To reuse the same name as with your old backup, before connecting your PDA to your desktop PC, go to File/Delete Partnership on your desktop computer and delete your old partnership. To be sure, move the synchronized file-directory named after your old partnership from your My Documents directry inside c:\Documents and Settings (if you synchronized Files between the PDA and the desktop before). You can then, after doing the first synchronization, move its contents back to there.

This way, ActiveSync will automatically reuse the partership name you've restored from your backup.