ROM update

[optimistique1]

HI Guys, what is a ROM update, how do you use it and what does it actually do?

Thanks

Garry

[Darren Behan]

The ROM contains the operating system for your PPC as well as some additional programs that Microsoft provides (i.e. Pocket Word, etc.). Usually included with the ROM is the Extended ROM which contains all of the OEM customizations (i.e. things that HP or Dell themselves provide). This is stored in a non-volatile area of memory on your PPC. Performing a 'hard reset' on your PDA reads this memory and restores your PPC to the way it was when you turned it on for the first time. (Note: this is different from a soft reset which is the rough equivalent of just rebooting your PDA.)

ROM updates, therefore, are updates to the operating system, OEM enhancements or, more frequently, a combination of the two. These are provided by the company that brands you your PDA (i.e. Dell, iMate, etc.) and you can not use ROMs intended for other devices or provided by other manufacturers. (There are exceptions to this but I will assume that it is more complicated and risky than you may want to deal with at this point - if a ROM update goes bad it can render your PPC useless).

When you perform a ROM update everthing on your PDA is erased and the new ROM and/or Extended ROM is installed. You then must resinstall any programs that you may have added to your PDA yourself. Given this, you should weigh the benefit of the update against the effort to get your PPC re-customized to how you like it. Usually the OEM providing it will list what the update is trying to address to help you make that decision. Installation instructions are usually very specific and should be followed exactly.

Think that about covers it. I'm sure someone else could have said it better but the essence of it is correct.

db

[Shaun Stuart]

I think Darren pretty much covered it all - but I would add two points.

ROM upgrades can make a significant difference to the performance of your device. I purchased the 02 Atom recently and was really disapointed with the speed of the device, the sound quality and overall stability. 02 have responded quite quickly to user feedback and have released 2 rom upgrades that I am aware of which have significantly improved the performance of the device - both upgrades were well worth doing.

The second point is that the Rom upgrade process is not difficult or that time consuming in it self - it took me about 20 minutes to upgrade the ROM after downloading it from the 02 site - the biggest problem is as Darren mentioned reloading the programs you previously installed. I have at least 15 3rd party applications that I reinstall every time - each one needs finding on my PC, installing through activesync on to the device - inputing serial codes (if you can remember where you left them) to activate and in some cases customising. It takes me a couple of hours to do this properly.

I have been looking for a backup program to backup and restore between ROM upgrades but cant find one that officially supports this feature - when I do I will be buying it.