What HexEdit Value to Use for SmartBook/WinCE.net 4.2??

Continuing my testing of the SmartBook G138 and Sigmarion III....

Tough job, but someone needs to do it!


Anyway, have managed to get some apps installed on the Sig3 using the hex edit technique that I read about....change value from '11 0A' to '20 07' in first instance found....

Have tried doing this for apps to install on SmartBook and get error message on SmartBook that 'can't install as app is not for this device'....

Is this because I need to change the value to another number since the SmartBook is a different device hardware-wise or since it's running WinCE.net v4.2 vs v4.1 on the Sig3 or both??

Any suggestions???

Thanks!

Mark

well you can use wceload app so that you don't have to do hexediting for the sig3. but i don't know this from experience
i don't think smartbook needs hexediting at all, but i can be wrong, takwu will tell you for sure

anyway which one do you like more? sig3 or smartbook?

Thanks for the tip, cmonex, will have to try that. Although the hexediting is easy to do using UltraEdit....



Hmmm....hope takwu is around....calling takwu....

When I tried install without hexediting, I got error messages. At least with some apps I tried...




Aahhh....that is a good question....

Very hard to say as both have their good points....

Smartbook has very nice big display and keyboard, newer OS (4.2)...but heavier than Sig3 or 720...

Sig3 has very nice slim, svelte, good design with lightweight, better/larger keyboard/display and newer OS (4.1) than 720....

So having a hard time right now deciding on which one....but think I'll know in a day or so which one I'll probably keep....

Mark

Edited by ArchiMark 2005-07-28 12:11 AM

well.. what error messages did you get?

i'd avoid hexediting, if you already have another HPC so that you don't have to keep two copies of the same app

you mentioned more advantages about the sig3 and no disadvantages isn't there any really? i'm curious..
is the keyboard really better than on the 720? hmmmm.. sounds good. but you can't be serious about the larger display... it's smaller, isn't it? are you absolutely fine with its size?
i wouldn't say 4.1 is worse than 4.2, but what's your opinion about this? i have more serious experience with only 4.2.



in a day or so? that's close
if i were you i'd keep both, could find a good use for both of course if you won't be able to use both you'd better sell one

Nothing too specific other than something like "This app is not intended for this device".....



Yes, there are some....



I might be wrong, but I think the keyboard is a bit larger, but not by much...

Display on Sig3 is not larger in terms of width I think, but it 'feels' larger to me than the 720 since it's taller and more 'squarish' than the 720....
for example, if you're looking at a webpage on a Sig3 you can read more of the page at one time since the display is taller, right??



It's hard for me to say as I've only played, I mean used the Sig3 and SmartBook for such a short time in the past week. So hard to know what is really if anything significant is different in terms of real world usage....

Seems like the main issue relates to whether particular software will install on it or not without hexediting.....





I'm really debating whether to just keep both or not....

on the one hand it would be nice to have 2 devices, if nothing else one as a spare, in case something happens to one of them...

on the other hand, one will be just sitting around collecting dust and I could probably use the $ from selling it for some other toy, I mean device....

will decide soon though....

still need to hear from takwu..............

Mark

you just go on with the install then! press Yes... or it will not let you install instead exits?




disadvantages? any?





i see.. and what about the size of texts, icons?


thanks..

hm.. you could write a comparative review of the two maybe.. or three with the j720... btw is the j720 the least cool device out of the three (as you already sold it)?

Unfortunately, you do not get the option to continue with install...just get an 'OK' button and then install window disappears....




Well......

Only disadvantage to Sig3 depends on what you compare it to....

If you compare it to 720, then it is a bit larger (size-wise) to carry, but not by much... perhaps more work to install apps (hexediting), AFAIK, no Linux option...

If you compare it to SmartBook, then display and keyboard on Sig3 is smaller size than SmartBook......

but other than that really no disadvantages

Both are nice units, just that since each is a different size, it is natural that each will have some +'s and -'s.......





Sig3 text, icons are a bit smaller but I find that it's OK for me...bit easier to see things on the SmartBook...



Yes, I can try and do that....



Don't know that I'd say that....even though I sold the 720, they are very nice design and well-made units.

Just felt that for me, since I already have 2 very small units (Zaurus SL-C3000 and Palm T3) I have that size covered well. I thought what I wanted was a unit that offered what the little ones do not, a larger display and keyboard.

So, given all of these units I had around, the 720 was not quite small enough to be small like the Zaurus and not quite large enough display/keyboard like the Sig3 and SmartBook...for better or worse, that was my 'logic'.....

HTH,

Mark

erm.. then we'll have to wait for takwu!
can you mention some programs you had this problem with?

i've got an idea.. install the program on your 720 first.. then copy it to the smartbook. uh, well i realize you already sold that then try installing them on the sig3.

thanks for the additional info, very interesting

Edited by cmonex 2005-07-28 6:56 PM

Yes, where o' where is takwu (or any other SmartBooker out there....) ???.....

As for apps that had install problems.....Pocket-On-Schedule, KontaktManager....

Had problem with Sig3 until, I learned about the hexediting method....then all was good....

Thanks,

Mark

ask the guys in yahoo handheldPC group..

pocketonschedule.. was it the hpc ce.net version?

Hmmm....good idea!




Think so....but I should double-check.....


Thanks,

Mark

Pocket On-Schedule doesn't work for CE .net. As far as I know MP900C owners can't get it to work, and I can't get it to work on the Smartbook. Netbook Pro owners have it built-in, but I don't think they can get any other (newer) version to work either. TBH I think they screwed up on this particular platform. Can you get it to work on the Sig3?

I have no idea about KontaktManager. Is it the one from PocketKai? If so you can simply ask the author. As this product has no downloadable version, I cannot try it to determine the problem without paying for it

Thanks, takwu!

Yes, I have both Pocket-On-Schedule (POS) and KontaktManager (from Kai) working on my Sig3.

Had to do the hexediting thing on the CAB files, then installed OK......

So, POS does work on CE.net v4.1 then, right???

Mark

well it DOES work on the 900C with the right htmlview.dll... if you're interested, you can download the dll package in the NEC forums on ppcmag (if you can't find it, i'll send it to you)

ArchiMark,

the hexediting you do only affects the cpu type code stored in a windows ce application to define what microprocessor architecture and family the program was compiled for. You actually change type code 2577 (hex 0A11 or with low byte first 110A) for StrongARM SA-1100, SA-1110, XScale to type code 1824 (hex 0720 or with low byte first again 2007) for ARM7xx, XScale (Thumb). NEC as the device manufacturer of Sig3 has set the type code to 1824 for no obvious reason, maybe simply by error (somebody told me there is a bug in default settings of some Intel compiler version resulting in exactly this faulty cpu type coded in). The Sig3, however, is in fact an absolutely common XScale device running absolutely common StrongARM code - otherwise your hexediting wouldn't be successful at all.

Now if you tried to run those hexedited files on your G138 it should be obvious what happened: the G138 is indeed a '2577' device expecting '2577' compiled code. After changing type code to '1824' these files won't run on any common StrongArm or XScale device any longer.

As cmonex already mentioned the more comfortable way is to install wceloadext on your Sig3. The tool remains in your device's memory and catches all type code testing during software installation either by wceload routine directly on your machine or by activesync setup on your desktop computer. Since I've been running 'wceloadext' on my Sig3 I've never had to hexedit any more files .