The Windows CE 2.0 ROM Upgrade
 The
phenomenal demand for information that we receive each week requesting
information on this humble chip is astounding.
The fact remains that there are still a substantial number of
Windows CE 1 users out there who never knew that there was a ROM
upgrade path for their device.
This section is here primarily to answer your questions on the
ROM upgrade. We post all the information that we receive regarding
the upgrade here on this site. Please only contact us directly if
you have information on obtaining ROM upgrades. If you have questions
regarding ROM upgrades please post on the forums.
We cannot provide information on the location's of ROM upgrades
in country's that are not specified at the bottom of this article.
Please do not ask us if we know where you can purchase upgrades.
All the information we have available have is posted here on this
page.
If you wish to use the Forum hpcBay area to make
a request for a ROM upgrade, all registered users are welcome to
do so, however users should be sure to view previous listings and
appreciate how infrequently the chips come up before posting.
What is the ROM Upgrade?
 The
CE 2 ROM Chip upgrades the H/PC operating system from Windows
CE 1.0x to Windows CE 2.0.
Windows CE 1 was short lived. By the time most OEM's were fluently
rolling out CE 1.0x devices, Microsoft had released Windows CE
2. Some OEM's offered the upgrade for free*, to
existing customers, as well as creating new hardware devices with
native support for the new platform.
The majority of the new generation of devices contained faster
processors and double the memory capacity of its predecessors.
H/PC Manufacturers which made ROM Upgrades available for their
CE 1.0x devices included hp, Casio, Compaq, NEC
and Philips.
See Also: History
of Windows CE
Should I upgrade my device?
The answer to that is Yes. Unless you can afford to buy
a new H/PC, or update to a newer model this is the best course of
action for all Windows CE 1.0x users. Updating the ROM module will
provide added support and functionality for the device,
far surpassing the abilities of Windows CE 1.
Updating to Windows CE 2 will allow you to install and use a wider
range of hardware and software applications by many different
developers. You will find that obtaining software for your device
is easier as there are more developers for the platform. There are
very few developers still writing for Windows CE 1.
Having CE 2 will also allow you to upgrade your host PC to a newer
operating system than Windows 95 or NT 4.0. Windows 98, Millennium,
2000, XP and 2003 are fully supported with some additional, free
software as are Office 97 (Windows 98 - 2000 only), 2000, XP and
2003. With CE 2, using third party software you can also
connect to non Microsoft Operating Systems and Office Productivity
suites on your host PC.
Finally the OS and security enhancements that come with CE 2 complete
the package.
What do I get with the ROM Upgrade?
The contents of the Windows CE 2.0 ROM Upgrade depend largely on the features
offered by the device OEM. While the core operating system is universal, the
installed software can vary. For example not all devices will have Pocket
PowerPoint or Voice Recorder. OEM's may also add their own, or third party
applications to the ROM chip
As an example the hp 300 Series ROM upgrade offers the following
over and above the Microsoft applications:
- bsquare Fax Professional v3
- bsquare bFind
- hp Month-at-a-Glance
In addition, the upgrade also includes new or significantly
updated versions of:
- Microsoft Pocket Word
- Microsoft Pocket Excel
- Microsoft Pocket PowerPoint
- Microsoft Pocket Outlook
- Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer
- Windows CE operating System GUI and shell components
For more information on Windows CE 2.0 please see
the History of Windows
CE section.
Is there a ROM upgrade available for my device?
The following table lists devices which had CE 2.00 ROM Upgrades
issued in 1997.
|
Device
|
|
Upgrade Type
|
|
Casio CASSIOPEIA A-10
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
Casio CASSIOPEIA A-11
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
Casio CASSIOPEIA A-11 Plus
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
Casio CASSIOPEIA A-50
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
Casio CASSIOPEIA A-51
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
Casio CASSIOPEIA A-51V
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
Compaq C120
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
Compaq C120+
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
Compaq C140
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
Ericsson MC12
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
Hewlett Packard 300LX
|
|
|
|
Hewlett Packard 320LX
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
HITACHI HPW10E4
|
|
|
|
HITACHI HPW10E4MB
|
|
|
|
LG Phenom GP40M
|
|
|
|
NEC MobileGear MC-CS11
|
|
|
|
NEC MobileGear MC-CS12
|
|
|
|
NEC MobileGear MC-CS13
|
|
|
|
NEC MobilePro 200
|
|
|
|
NEC MobilePro 400
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
NEC MobilePro 450
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
|
Philips Velo 1
|
|
Daughter Board (ROM Chip)
|
These devices do not meet the minimum
specification for use with Windows CE 2.11 (H/PC Professional)
which is the next step up the H/PC Operating System Ladder.
What do the OEM's say about obtaining the Upgrade?
Hewlett Packard
Below is a message from HP Jornada commenting on the availability
of the ROM upgrade. As you will see they deny the availability
of the ROM upgrade even though it is still available. Obviously
someone in the hierarchy of Jornada someone has made a decision
to try and push users to buy new devices.
HPC Factor believes this to be a mistake on the part of Jornada.
Thank you for contacting HP's Customer Care e-mail
support.
I understand that you would like to upgrade the ROM of your
Jornada
320LX Palmtop.
There was an upgrade for the HP 320LX units to Windows CE 2.0
that was
available for about a year. This upgrade has been discontinued
and is
no longer available.
Currently the only option available to upgrade to a newer version
of
Windows CE is to purchase a new device.
If you need further assistance, please reply to this message.
You may
also find technical and troubleshooting information along with
software
updates, on our HP Customer Care Web site at:
http://www.hp.com/
Best regards,
Kerry
HP Customer Solutions Team
* Our advice is strictly limited to the question(s) asked and
is
based on the information provided to us. Problems
and solutions
may depend on the nature of your system environment and
various
other parameters that are unknown to HP; therefore, HP
cannot assume
any responsibility or liability. Please be advised
that technical
information changes as new data becomes available, therefore,
HP
recommends that you regularly check our Customer Care
Web site for
possible updates at:
http://www.hp.com/go/support
HP shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special,
incidental
or consequential damages in connection with the use of
this
information.
Ericsson
Below is a the official Ericsson Press Release from December 1997 announcing
the immediate availability for the Ericsson MC12 Windows CE 2.0 ROM Upgrade.
19 December, 1997
ERICSSON ANNOUNCES UPGRADE TO WINDOWS CE 2.0 FOR MC 12 CUSTOMERS
Ericsson Mobile Communications AB today announced
its support for the Windows CE 2.0 operating system. Moving
to enhance their customer's investment in the MC 12 Mobile Companion
currently running Windows CE 1.0, Ericsson has opted to offer,
subject to time limitations, a free upgrade program to Windows
CE 2.0.
Customers purchasing a MC 12 before February 28, 1998, will
be eligible to apply for a Windows CE 2.0 ROM module from Ericsson. This
is a world-wide offer, free of charge, and will be completed when Windows
CE 2.0 becomes available.
Casio
September 8, 1997--CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD., in conjunction with
CASIO, INC., announced today a free Windows® CE 2.0 ROM upgrade
program for new purchasers of the market leading, CASSIOPEIA Handheld
PC. The Windows CE ROM Upgrade Kit will be available for CASSIOPEIA
Handheld PC's - A-11, and A-11 Plus. The upgrade kit can easily
be installed and requires no special tools.
-
"The Windows CE 2.0 ROM upgrade for the Handheld PC is a new release
from Microsoft which will allow enhanced performance for CE H/PCs,"
said Gary Rado, Executive Vice President of the Handheld Personal Computer
Division and Digital Imaging Division of Casio. "This ROM upgrade system
protects the users investment and demonstrates Casio's commitment to
develop Handheld PCs that can easily be expanded and updated," continued
Rado.
-
A free upgrade kit will be available to Casio users who purchase either
a CASSIOPEIA A-11 or A-11 Plus from September 8, 1997 to December 31,
1997. For current CASSIOPEIA owners this upgrade kit is also available
for $99.99. Fulfilment of the free upgrade will occur soon after Microsoft's
release of the next version expected in the fourth quarter of 1997.
-
"We're pleased with Casio's announcement of the availability of their
ROM Upgrade Kit which will allow upgrading of existing H/PCs to the
next release of Windows CE for the H/PC," said Harel Kodesh, General
Manager, Consumer Appliance Group at Microsoft. "Casio's commitment
to developing products that enhance productivity is why our partnership
has been so successful in the launch of Windows CE."
-
The CASSIOPEIA was the first Windows CE based Handheld PC available
at the launch last November at Comdex. Rado continued to comment that
as the market leader in the Windows CE category, they will continue
to support the CASSIOPIEA users.
-
For more information please visit the Casio website at www.casio.com
or www.casiohpc.com.
-
CASSIOPEIA
-
CASSIOPEIA comes with Windows CE built-in, a Windows-based operating
system specially developed by Microsoft Corp. The result is a high level
of data compatibility between CASSIOPEIA and Windows-based desktop computers.
It also offers the same user interface as found in Windows for the desktop.
The open architecture of the system helps ensure a rich supply of software
applications from third-party developers.
-
CASSIOPEIA has a number of pre-installed useful applications including
Information Manager (which is synchronized with Microsoft Schedule +/Outlook™
for Windows 95), Microsoft Pocket Word and Microsoft Pocket Excel Ð
H/PC versions of the well-known PC software applications such as Microsoft
Word and Microsoft Excel, a world clock and a calculator. In addition,
e-mail capabilities and Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer, together
with various ports perform powerful data communications. CASSIOPEIA
comes bundled with a selection of business-oriented applications that
will allow fax transmission, remote e-mail access, information service
reception using 1-way pager, wireless e-mail for use with a 2-way pager.
-
In addition the CASSIOPEIA offers the unique Casio QV-link connection
software. This software allows transferring images to and from a Casio
QV digital camera. It allows the user to edit titles, comments and enter
dates, and rearrange or delete the images in the camera. In the presentation
mode, the user can control the display of presentations through the
Casio QV camera to a TV monitor. The QV link gives the user the ability
to take photos with the digital camera, download it to the CASSIOPEIA
and then e-mail it over the Internet.
-
As the first manufacturer of the Digital Diary, Casio was able to draw
upon years of experience in developing the next-generation mobile information
hardware.
-
***
-
CASIO Computer Co., Ltd., is one of the leading consumer electronics
companies in the world. Since its establishment in 1957, CASIO has been
active in the development of electronic calculators, timepieces, musical
instruments, digital cameras, LCD TVs, pagers and other communications
devices. CASIO's corporate activities are guided by the motto: "Creativity
and Contribution." (www.casio.co.jp)
-
Casio, Inc., Dover, NJ, is the U.S. subsidiary of Casio Computer Co.,
Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. Casio, Inc., with sales over $500-million, markets
calculators, watches, business organizers, musical keyboards, audio
and video products, electronic cash registers, digital cameras and other
consumer electronic products (www.casio.com)
-
CASIO and CASSIOPEIA are trademarks of CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks
of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
How can I obtain the Module?
The module is Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) software.
This means that it can only be distributed through the OEM, or
with the OEM's express permission. As a result, unless you try
for an on-line auction site, your best and only safe bet is to
go directly to the OEM
The module is old hardware, and understandably the OEM's want
you to go out and purchase a new device, as a result contacting
the Sales department for the upgrade should be your second
port of call, We advise that you first contact Technical support.
This may seem strange, but it is where our users report having
the best luck in tracking down the module here in the United
Kingdom.
Users should also be aware of the HPC:Factor forum resource
hpcBay. hpcBay is a free service provided by us to users,
providing them with a place where they can request, trade and
sell Handheld PC hardware and software.
All users seeking ROM upgrades should look through the hpcBay
and consider the merits of posting a request.
View hpcBay
Europe:
In the United Kingdom, the ROM Upgrade has been found
to be available from hp Jornada Technical Support.
North America:
HP - In the United States, the ROM Upgrade has been found
to be available from the hp replacement parts service.
The Module is available via a Independent Distributor; Code
Micro, shipping available to the United States & Canada¹
(Sold Out)
NEC - Information on the Mobile Pro 400 / 450 upgrade
can be found by clicking
here
South America:
None
Australasia:
None
Asia:
None
India:
None
Pole's & Other locals:
None
The absence of places to obtain the ROM upgrade
is due to user reluctance in contacting us back with information
on where they obtained it. As a result we feel that spending our
time answering questions on obtaining the module from users around
the world is not justified. All contact's to us regarding the
ROM upgrade will be replied to with a link back to this page.
If you have any further information as to the availability of
the ROM module, please contact us
with the details.
¹ Thanks to Mike Carter for providing us with
information on this link
* Note:
The free upgrade is no longer a standing offer from hp or Casio.
All references to the upgrade on their web site are now deemed invalid
by hp Jornada - Confirmed January 2001
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