reasons for a slow START menu in a WM5- device?

[ipaq_wannabe]

i have the WM5-based phone (not a smartphone)... and whenever i open the START menu by using one of the hardware buttons, it takes about 2 to 3 seconds for it to even react (this only happens from a "rested" state, ie., not having been used for about 30 minutes).

what could be the cause? any ideas?

my guess lies in maybe it is searching through the slow 1GB miniSD card...?

PS: my new handheld is the Willcom/Sharp W-ZERO3 (the first WM-based "smart" phone in Japan)

[Nurhisham Hussein]

PS: my new handheld is the Willcom/Sharp W-ZERO3 (the first WM-based "smart" phone in Japan)

Nice phone! What do you think of it?

As for your start menu question, I suspect it's a case of the OS digging for icons - that happens to me as well, especially for programs stored in ROM or on a memory card. For a WM5 device, of course, all programs are stored in ROM or a memory card - I'm not at all sure what you can do about this.

[Darius Wey]

I'm with hishamh on this one. I've experienced it before and have reason to believe it's just a bad case of OS lag. Having a VGA device doesn't alleviate the situation either (increased resolution, increased draw time).

[PetiteFlower]

My X50v does it sometimes too.

[pocketpcadmirer]

This happens with my magician(running 2003SE) too. It takes about 2-3 secs to start reacting on the taps.

Sunny

[Menneisyys]

This problem is caused by the operating system's need to look up icons from executable/resource files of every single application that is (currently) present in the Start menu – both fixed applications (applications that you configure to be always displayed in the upper part of the Start menu) and the list of the recently used ones.

An example Start Menu is as follows:

Click for screenshot (http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/StartMenuPrograms.bmp.png)

In this menu, Opera Browser and Resco File Explorer/Registry Editor are custom, manually added applications; their icons are always-present.

Please note that there may be automatically added icons in here too; some applications (like the Thunderhawk browser) put their icons here upon installation, without manual interaction.

The icons/names of File Explorer, nPOP, ProfiMail, WebIS Mail (don't ask why I have so many mailer clients on my PDA - I'm just working on a really kick-butt article on everything mailing-related) and ProfiExplorer, on the other hand, are in the recently used list section.

You can eliminate the problem caused by custom applications in the "fixed" (non-temporary/history) section the following way: try to find the "offending" application by just disabling all custom applications present in the Start menu. If displaying the Start menu becomes much faster after disabling a certain application (and resetting the PDA), you will know that you have found the offending one.

To do this, go to Start/Settings/Menus:

Click for screenshot (http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/StartMenuChooser.bmp.png)

and uncheck the checkbox of the custom applications. After this, reset your device and, after booting in, check whether bringing up the Start menu is (much) faster or not. If it's much faster than before, you've found the offending application.

Note that, before you reset your device, you may also want to delete the recent program list from the Start menu. You can use both Tweaks2k2 to do this (choose Tweaks/System Tricks/Clear Recent Prog. List as can be seen here (http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/StartMenuTW2k2.bmp.png)) or, which is much easier to use on the long run, do the following:

Get this archive (http://www.winmobiletech.com/sekalaiset/DeleteHistoryAndReset.zip). Extract all files form it on your desktop. Copy the file DeleteHistoryAndReset.lnk in \Windows\Start Menu\Programs on your PDA so that it's easily accessible in the Start menu.

Copy the other three files in \Program Files\ns (create this directory - that is, ns under Program Files - first). Then, just click the new DeleteHistoryAndReset icon in Start/Programs to delete the recent application list and to reset your device.

This way, you can get rid of the applications in your recent program list with just two screen taps.

(Note that this uses nScriptm (http://www.s-k-tools.com/util.html), the great scripting tool, and PHM's Reset. Both are freely redistributable applications. You may want to read Scripting on the Pocket PC - nScriptm vs MortRunner vs PPC consoles, with a registry read/conditional write example (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=356534) (alternatives: iPAQ HQ (http://www.ipaqhq.com/forums/showthread.php?p=100129), AximSite (http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?p=768255), PPC Magazine (http://pocketpcmag.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17133), FirstLoox (http://www.firstloox.org/forums/showthread.php?p=34860), BrightHand (http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=119475), PocketMatrix (http://www.pocketmatrix.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=263367)) and Programming the Pocket PC - entirely PPC (not desktop)-based solutions (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=357097) (alternatives: iPAQ HQ (http://www.ipaqhq.com/forums/showthread.php?p=100822), AximSite (http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=92214), PPC Magazine (http://pocketpcmag.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17200), FirstLoox (http://www.firstloox.org/forums/showthread.php?p=35073), BrightHand (http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=119519)) for more information on nScriptm.

Also note that deleting the recent program list this way won't work in WM5 because of the lag between modifying the registry and its being written back to ROM. The utility will, however, work in pre-WM5 operating systems just great.)

Incidentally, if you stick to using this reset script (conveniently, say, assigned to a hardware button), then, you can much faster reset your Pocket PC than with, say, the "real" reset switch – particularly if you have a Pocket PC like the Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox 7xx series, which makes it necessary to unscrew the stylus to reset.

[Menneisyys]

(Just posted a heavily updated version of my post.)

[hezahonker]

Is there anything one can do for icons that are not loading properly on the start menu? I would love to keep those programs on the start menu. Every time I soft reset, they go to those white generic windows ugly things and I have to go into start- settings- menus and un-tick and re-tick them to get them to appear again. Very frustrating. Even though the icons themselves do not appear the shortcuts themselves are operable.

I have a transcend 1g 80x card that is almost new. I find it hard to believe that the card is inferior. I used the same card on my dell axim x30 before I got my new Treo 700wx. I never had this problem on the Dell.

The programs causing me problems are Agendus Professional and Resco Explorer. Not all my start menu items give me a problem. All of the rest load just fine. Furthermore, the items that don't give me problems are also stored on the same card. So go figure.

Resco has one report on their support forums by someone else experiencing the same problem, but they claim it is an OS issue.

[ctmagnus]

How long has this been happening for you? I just started experiencing the same thing, but on two different devices, and it started at roughly the same time on each.

[hezahonker]

Well, it is hard to say. Seems as if it has been happening for three to four weeks.

obviously, if I load the programs in main memory it subsides but who wants to do that? Kinda makes my 1gig card useless.

[ctmagnus]

On my one device, programs on the storage card have the generic icon on the Start menu after a reboot, but on the other device, some of the icons for programs in main memory get the same icon. Like you said, removing then re-adding the shortcuts to the Start menu corrects it, but I also found that removing any shortcut corrects it. I just go into the Start menu settings and remove the first checked item and re-add it, and the menu is fine after that.

At this point, I don't think there is a solution other than what we've already been doing. :(

[hezahonker]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I should of added that I found out the same thing that if you untick an old shortcut, that works too. That is really weird that items even in the main memory are acting funky.

I wonder if something throws it off. I use SPB Mobile Shell but it hasn't changed at all since I started using it so I doubt that is the problem. The only other thing that changed recently was the timezone update for the Treo 700wx. other than that, I am stumped. Oh well, it is good to know I am not alone. 8)

[ctmagnus]

Hmm... I also use Spb Mobile Shell, and I applied the timezone update to my JAMin. I acquired the Treo (750v) after both time changes so I haven't bothered with fiddling with time changes on it yet. So, more similarities - the different time change as well as Treo hardware.

[hezahonker]

I should try a hard reset and load Resco Explorer and see if I can get it to duplicate on a clean device. That may help us. I'd say that if it does the same thing, then it is either my card or my device.

[ctmagnus]

I rebuilt the JAMin not too long ago, and the Treo's less than a week old, so I'd guess that you'd have the same issue if you installed all the same software.

[isajoo]

try using wisbar... it has the option to load all icons on start and it works like winxp start menu. by placing all apps icons in individual folders it prevents the os from loading every icon. only the one needed loads. i dont use the recent apps thing, because of too many apps on cards trying to load every time. plus u get the great benefit of having skins on ur pocket pc.

[hezahonker]

Thanks for the wisbar suggestion. Been a longtime user of it and WAD but just too fed up with the memory consumption it takes. I can live with the icons disappearing. I don't have the problem with the start menu delay at all so I am going to just put up with the annoyance. Perhaps, I will buy another type of card one day and it will do better. Ya never know.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Perhaps, I will buy another type of card one day and it will do better. Ya never know.

I seriously doubt a new card would help - it's really a problem with card initialization by the OS, rather than the speed of the card that causes the problem. Unless MS changes this in subsequent OS versions, the problem is here to stay. BTW, I use WA2 as well.

[hezahonker]

Nurhisham Hussein,

Thanks for the reply. Well, that is good to know at least. I am not too worried anyhow because I just can set my start menu to SPB Mobile Shell and not even have to use the native start menu. (at least all of the icons show there).

Or, as has been offered, go to WA2 if I choose again one day. For now Mobile Shell is running much better for my needs. :wink:

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I do agree that Wisbar Advance2 is a great solution for those who want to go that route. :D