Don Tolson
12-13-2006, 04:00 PM
<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-nov06-pmech-logo2.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Maintenance Software<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <A HREF = "http://www.antontomov.com" target = "blank"> Anton Tomov</A><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <A HREF = "http://www.mobihand.com/pocketpcthoughts/product.asp?id=7607" target = "blank"> MobiHand (affiliate link)</A><br /><b>Price:</b> $24.95USD for PM Pro. A ‘lite’ version is available for $14.95USD. A fully functioning 15-day trial is available.<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> Version reviewed was for WM5, but versions are also available for Pocket PC (Win CE3.0, ARM, SH3 & MIPS), Pocket PC 2002, 2003 and 2003SE.<br /><b>Specifications:</b> Application requires approximately 2.7Mb of memory. Benchmark folder requires approximately 250K per device. PM Pro should be installed to Program (internal) memory, since it requires exclusive access to storage cards for a number of its functions.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><br /><li>Fast analysis and correction of card and memory mgmt problems;<li>Large variety of benchmark data for cards available;<li>If PMPro won’t fix it, it probably can’t be fixed!<br /><br /><b>Cons:</b><br /><li>CE databases not working on WM5 (yet!);<li>No pause button for long scans/benchmark tests;<li>Unload apps may show it completed successfully, even though it couldn’t find the unload.exe file;<li>Can be slow to start up.<br /><br /><b>Summary:</b><br />For those looking to keep their Pocket PC in peak operating condition, Pocket Mechanic Pro represents the ultimate in toolkits available. It’s like having one of those big rolling red toolboxes for the Pocket PC!<br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Introduction</b></span><br />Ever wished you could spend the afternoon/weekend flipping up the hood and ‘tinkering’ with your favourite Pocket PC the way that car guys do with a Corvette/Mustang/Dodge Pickup on the front driveway? Well, Anton Tomov has provided you with everything you need to do just that in the latest version of Pocket Mechanic Pro (v2.23.163).<br /><br /><span><b>Opening up the Big Red Box…</b></span><br />Once installed, Pocket Mechanic Pro can be started from the icon in the Programs folder. On my machine however, it took about 12 seconds to get the main screen from the initial tap on the icon.<br /><br />So, what have we got in here? Pocket Mechanic Professional comes with such a wide selection of tools, it can be a little daunting at first glance.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-nov06-pmech-main.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 1: Main screen of Pocket Mechanic Professional.</i><br /><br />Here’s a short description of each of the tools in your kit:<br /><b>Card Info</b> - provides detailed information on installed storage cards (SD and CF);<br /><b>Free Ram</b> - defragments and frees up unused ‘Program’ memory;<br /><b>Card Benchmark</b> - compare your storage card against others;<br /><b>Fragmentation Status</b> - shows a map of fragmentation on storage cards;<br /><b>Defragment</b> - remove all those nasty memory fragments on storage cards;<br /><b>Slack Analysis</b> - analyze card storage for ‘wasted’ space due to un-filled clusters;<br /><b>Format</b> – reformat a storage card (similar to reformatting your hard drive);<br /><b>Recover Bad Sectors</b> - scan the data sectors and relocate data from ‘bad sectors’ to healthy ones while marking the unusable ones in the FAT tables;<br /><b>CE Databases</b> - view content of WinCE databases (e.g. Pocket Outlook and others);<br /><b>Find Duplicate Files</b> - as titled, locate (and eliminate) multiple copies of the same file;<br /><b>Find Invalid Shortcuts</b> - locate and eliminate shortcuts to nowhere;<br /><b>Large Files</b> - find the files taking up the most space;<br /><b>Large Folders</b> - find folders that are taking up the most space;<br /><b>Notification Queue</b> - review the reminders on the system and eliminate duplicates;<br /><b>File System Cleanup</b> - select from a list of file types which clutter a system, and have them removed;<br /><b>Registry Cleanup</b> - analyzes the registry and (optionally) removes unused / unneeded entries;<br /><b>Uninstall Apps</b> - a more complete uninstall utility;<br /><b>Relocate</b> - move applications from Program Memory to storage cards (or vice-versa);<br /><b>Storage Cache</b> - tuning of the file system memory management to improve storage performance.<br /><br />Whew! That’s quite the toolkit. You can be forgiven for not being able to remember what each application does, but that’s exactly why Anton has provided a Help/Description area at the bottom of the screen. (BTW, this can be reduced by dragging on the space between the windows, or eliminated via the Details option on the View menu).<br /><br />Along the top of the main screen is a BRB (Big Red Button) for shutting off power to your unit plus a rolling CPU usage meter. I couldn’t figure out how to use the View and Shortcut drop downs, since on my upgraded-to-WM5 Axim X50V, they only show ‘N/A’. The menus on the bottom of the screen provide a proper exit function (i.e. actually shutting down the application); editing of settings for PMPro; formatting of the main view to shut on and off the Header line and descriptions; and rotation to any display position you want.<br /><br /><span><b>Which End Does the Bit Go In? Using the Tools</b></span><br />Generally, the interface for using each of the tools is simple, consistent, and leads the user through the various stages of analysis and results. After selecting a tool from the main menu, the next screen displays the available storage cards and allows you to select which ones to work on.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-nov06-pmech-pickacard.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 2: Picture of card selection screen.</i><br /><br />After selecting the desired card or cards, tapping the Next button at the bottom of the screen starts the analysis. If more than one card is selected, the application will go through the first card to its final report, then proceed to the second selection.<br /><br />During analysis, notifications of problems or status may be presented.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-nov06-pmech-notice.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 3: Notification screen. If desired, these intermediary notifications can be turned off, application by application, by selecting the tick box in the lower left of the notice screen.</i><br /><br />Then, the results of the analysis are shown.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-nov06-pmech-analysis-results.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 4: Analysis results.</i><br /><br />Tapping the Next button again will present the analysis report.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-nov06-pmech-report.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 5: Analysis report.</i><br /><br />Most of the reports are text (as shown above) but there are variations based on what function has been selected.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-nov06-pmech-fragstatus.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 6: Fragmentation status screen.</i><br /><br />The reports and notifications are also logged as text files in a location specified in the Edit/Settings/Debug menu item.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-nov06-pmech-logsetting.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 7: Logging settings screen.</i><br /><br />Tapping the OK button at the Report screen then returns you to the main tool selection screen. Selecting the Back button re-runs the function, and Cancel returns you to the main function screen.<br /><PAGEBREAK> <br /><span><b>How Well Do They Work?</b></span><br />Below are timings for each of the functions, running on a lightly loaded (not many apps) Axim X50v which was upgraded to WM5. All tests were done with the Axim on external power and with only Activesync running:<br /><br /><b>Card Info</b> - 4.3 secs to retrieve all info from 2GB Sandisk SD; 4.4 sec to retrieve all info from 512MB Sandisk CF;<br /><b>Free Ram</b> - 1 min 22 secs to hibernate 4 processes, defrag and optimize heap of 15 processes;<br /><b>Card Benchmark</b> - 36 mins 20 secs to run all file system benchmarks on 2GB Sandisk SD card; 28.05 secs to run all low level tests on 2GB Sandisk SD card;<br /><b>Fragmentation Status</b> - 6.13 secs to analyze 2GB Sandisk SD;<br /><b>Defragment</b> - 12.3 secs to analyze and defrag 2GB Sandisk SD;<br /><b>Slack Analysis</b> - 6.13 secs to provide Slack stats on 2GB Sandisk SD;<br /><b>Format</b> – (Not run, as I didn’t have a card I wanted to blow away);<br /><b>Recover Bad Sectors</b> - 10.35 secs to analyze and recover bad sectors from 2GB Sandisk SD;<br /><b>CE Databases</b> - would not work on my upgraded Axim X50v;<br /><b>Find Duplicate Files</b> - 21.36 secs to scan 733 files and identify 16 duplicates (skips files in ROM, system and read-only files;<br /><b>Find Invalid Shortcuts</b> - 5.23 secs to scan 127 shortcuts with no invalids found;<br /><b>Large Files</b> - 8.33 secs to enumerate large files on entire device, including SD and CF cards, but skipping those in Read only, System, Hidden and ROM files;<br /><b>Large Folders</b> - 28.23 secs to scan 176 folders on entire device, including SD and CF cards, but skipping files which are Read Only, System, Hidden, and in ROM;<br /><b>Notification Queue</b> - 1 min, 33 secs to scan 76 notifications, with no duplicates found (all options selected);<br /><b>File System Cleanup</b> - 17 mins, 7 secs to find 324 files in 34 folders that matched the cleanup rules (all were selected);<br /><b>Registry Cleanup</b> - 16.40 secs to find 5 invalid keys (all options selected);<br /><b>Uninstall Apps</b> - about 14 secs to populate the list of applications;<br /><b>Relocate</b> - about 14 secs to populate the list of applications - 32 secs to move the files, update the registry and update the shortcuts for a medium-sized application (Resco File Explorer).<br /><br />Of all the tools provided in Pocket Mechanic Pro, the one that generates the most information is the Benchmark testing. As you can see from the timings above, running all the benchmark tests can take considerable time, but you get back a wealth of comparative info about your card. You can even run the benchmarks against your RAM! After the benchmark tests have completed, you can view comparison graphs for your card, a number of cards, and finally a report of the results.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-nov06-pmech-benchmark-results1.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 8: Graph of results from one of the tests.</i><br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-nov06-pmech-benchmark-results2.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 9: Benchmark Results comparison. Using the dropdowns, you can select from a large number of other cards to compare.</i><br /><br />You can also save the results and send them to Anton for inclusion in the next release of Pocket Mechanic.<br /><br />Storage Cache is a new function added with this latest version of PMPro. It allows you to tune the memory management of the file storage mechanisms to optimize it for your situation.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-nov06-pmech-cache.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 10: Options available in Storage Cache. As this is brand new, some of the options selectable are a bit cryptic (e.g. the Cache Settings).</i><br /><br />Most of the applications worked well and there was a notable improvement in overall performance of the Dell afterward. The only glitch was with the Uninstall Applications tool. After installing and successfully relocating the Resco File Explorer (approx. 960kb) to my CF card, PMPro was unable to uninstall the application. It said it couldn’t run the ‘uninstall.exe’ file. Subsequent screens said that the application had been successfully uninstalled, but Resco was still there, working just fine.<br /><br /><span><b>Conclusions</b></span><br />Pocket Mechanic Pro provides an extensive and exhaustive set of tools to analyze and repair any part of a PPC’s memory. It's obvious Anton and his team are working hard on this application, as there were three versions released during the writing of this review! Although there are a couple of features not quite working correctly with WM5, it is certainly a worthy addition to the maintenance suite on your Pocket PC.<br /><br /><i>Don is an Associate Director with Fujitsu Consulting and a member of its Enterprise Mobility Community. He is an inveterate tinkerer, with the pile of no-longer-working PPC’s on the workbench and the oil stains on the driveway to prove it! :wink: </i>