Database Info

Disabling Access To Games

Hi - is there any way on PocketPC 2003 to disable access to Solitaire and Jawbreaker. I'm pretty sure I can't remove them all together as they're in the ROM - but some registry hack to prevent access to them would be sufficient.

Try this...
You don't list what device or WM versions you are using, but here are two possible solutions you could try:
1) Read through the forums specific to your device, and learn how to cook your own ROM, removing the offending software.
2) Any file in your ROM can be "overwritten" by syncing to your pc and draggin a file with the same name to the folder containing the file you wish to replace. IE. I have a small, written for the pda application, which when run, displays a pop-up saying "This software has been removed because I do not wish for anyone using this device to have fun doing so!" or similar. I then name it solitare.exe and drag it into the Windows directory from my PC. It asks me am I sure I wish to overwrite the file, I click yes and bam! the file is "replaced". (I believe what actually happens is the OS delinks the file and places the new file in the old ones placeholder on the filesystem, it is still in the ROM as that is unwritable unless flashing, but it is no longer accessable, which is what you want to happen.

tried & failed...
I've created a solitare.exe as you suggested and placed it in the Windows directory - it doesn't seem to get run when executed however - The original game still gets run - I fear I may be doing something stupid.

Re: tried & failed...
gremlin said:
I've created a solitare.exe as you suggested and placed it in the Windows directory - it doesn't seem to get run when executed however - The original game still gets run - I fear I may be doing something stupid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you want to block them?

Re: Try this...
pneuma said:
You don't list what device or WM versions you are using, but here are two possible solutions you could try:
1) Read through the forums specific to your device, and learn how to cook your own ROM, removing the offending software.
2) Any file in your ROM can be "overwritten" by syncing to your pc and draggin a file with the same name to the folder containing the file you wish to replace. IE. I have a small, written for the pda application, which when run, displays a pop-up saying "This software has been removed because I do not wish for anyone using this device to have fun doing so!" or similar. I then name it solitare.exe and drag it into the Windows directory from my PC. It asks me am I sure I wish to overwrite the file, I click yes and bam! the file is "replaced". (I believe what actually happens is the OS delinks the file and places the new file in the old ones placeholder on the filesystem, it is still in the ROM as that is unwritable unless flashing, but it is no longer accessable, which is what you want to happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey pneuma.
2) Isn't working for me either. I thought gremlin was doing something wrong, but I just tried it myself, and, although my "fake" solitaire.exe (a renamed app) file is there, so is the original solitaire.exe. Tapping on the Solitaire icon under games runs the game as if nothing happened, although just opening the Games folder would tell you that it didn't work (the Solitaire icon is still the cards)
What did you do that we didn't? I'm using a Universal.

Peculiar...
Personally I haven't tried this specific to the games, but there was a nasty spash screen in the new WM5 for my Himalaya that I replaced in the method detailed above. It would appear however that solitaire might be a system program, as the following files:
\windows\solitaire.lnk
\windows\start menu\solitaire.lnk
have the following Target: ":MSSOLITAIRE"
but don't despair!
If you have resco explorer or some similar mobile based explorer replacement, try edit the links to point to the replacement exe, or even delete the links altogether, as well as the Games directory under "\windows\start menu\" (might not work deleting them though).
If the deletion or edits don't work you may well have to do the same trick, replacing these .lnk files with something else.
--Marc

Thanks to pneuma I think I've got a workable solution without having to hack into the ROM!
I've created two programs (using PocketBuilder) called Solitare.exe and Jawbreaker.exe which just pop up a response window saying "This Application Has Been Disabled"
I've also created two .lnk files - solitare.lnk and jawbreaker.lnk which contain:
22#"\Windows\Solitare.exe"
and
23#"\Windows\Jawbreaker.exe"
respectively
In my boot process I copy the executables and .lnk files to the \Windows directory and also copy the .lnk files to the
\Windows\Start Menu\Program\Games\
directory.
I don't think our users (sorry to diss them) are bright enough to figure out they have to remove all of these files to get the games working again.
Thanks for all your help.
Gremlin.

gremlin said:
(sorry to diss them)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you're dissing them all the way by treating them like this.
Why shouldn't they be able to play Solitair or JawBreaker every now and then during a coffee of lunch break. A bit of light releif never did anyone any harm.
I'm glad I don't work with you. (Bah Humbug)

I have no say in how the users are treated - I am merely a developer - I get told what needs to be done and I do it. I can offer my suggestions at design time but ultimately it is not my decision how the users are treated on the shop floor.
If I was in management it would be a different story.
I'm lovely to work with - I make the tea and everything

gremlin said:
If I was in management it would be a different story.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Point taken. :wink:
I would argue that it's hardly worth the effort just to piss people off.
I'll have my tea with milk and no sugar.

Bluetooth OBEX PUSH - Change default location

Hello,
I have a MDA Wizard and have been trying to change the default location of the files transferred to the storage card with no success. I changed the BaseDir value in the registry, but it does not work. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

yea me too, im looking for a solution. changed BaseDir and even change the My Documents path to Storage Card. Nothing so far. anyone know?

New location for files received by bluetooth
I came accross this program in this forum somewhere. Really good. Give it a try.
Just run the cab file and soft reset. After that, run the program whenever you want to switch bluetooth on and it puts a bluetooth icon on the system tray. double click icon and go to settings and set the dir where you want to receive the file and you're ready to go.
I've tried getting a really big file too just to see if this merely moves the file to the other location after receiving or actually changes the location of incoming files and found out it changes the location.
Let me know if this works for you.

hay damac
see thas :wink:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=46443
and Version 1.5 Coming Soon

Partial Success...
This is an old thread but I think is directly related to what I'm trying to do. I've seen many other threads trying to solve the same problem, so I won't create a new one. Anyway, first, here is the info:
AT&T 8525
HERM: 100
ROM: 3.62.502.3 (Offical AT&T)
Results:
Successfully transfered 2 test files from my laptop (XP SP2 Tosiba Bluetooth 4.00.22D) directly to my storage card:
AdbeRdr80_en_US.exe - 21,822,168 bytes
Tears of a Dragon.mp4 - 8,572,344 bytes
How:
Added a STRING value BaseDir to the HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\OBEX\{000...} set to: "/Storage Card/"
Problem / Temporary Solution:
Using Resco I can see the file in the Storage Card as soon as the beam is over, however the OBEX prompts you if you want to save the file or not. If you click NO the file gets deleted. If you click YES, the file gets moved after two seconds to \My Documents or some files just go nowhere(?). So before I actually answer the prompt, I just copy the file elsewhere on my card and then click NO on the prompt.
Analysis / Conclusions (so far):
1. The official AT&T ROM does not have OBEX FTP service installed (obexfile.dll). It only has the OBEX Default Inbox service (obexinbx.dll).
2. The obexinbx.dll is not behaving as expected. Ex: Why "/Storage Card/" vs. "\Storage card\"; Adding the DWORD value DisableUI does not eliminate the prompts as it should; If I delete the TransportAuntheticate value in the same key, it just reappears, yet the dll is not supposed to use that value as per MSDN2.
Could somebody try to duplicate my results and/or see if there is a way to disable the prompts? Thanks in advance!

Has anyone tried this? Please?
Here are some screenshots to better explain what is happening:
1. Add BaseDir value to the OBEX key.
2. Send test file from my laptop.
3. PPC displays 1st UI prompt (recfileprompt.jpg)
4. Laptop displays progress indicator for file transfer. (progress.jpg)
5. When transfer is complete, PPC display 2nd UI prompt. (uiprompt.jpg)
6. I can confirm the test file did transfer to the SD card (fileinssdcard.jpg)
7. If I click on YES the file disappears (but some files get moved to \My Documents). If I Click NO the file disappears.
So... Is there a way to get rid of these prompts? Or to make them not move or delete the file once is in the SD Card?
Thanks,

dgaud007 said:
Here are some screenshots to better explain what is happening:
1. Add BaseDir value to the OBEX key.
2. Send test file from my laptop.
3. PPC displays 1st UI prompt (recfileprompt.jpg)
4. Laptop displays progress indicator for file transfer. (progress.jpg)
5. When transfer is complete, PPC display 2nd UI prompt. (uiprompt.jpg)
6. I can confirm the test file did transfer to the SD card (fileinssdcard.jpg)
7. If I click on YES the file disappears (but some files get moved to \My Documents). If I Click NO the file disappears.
So... Is there a way to get rid of these prompts? Or to make them not move or delete the file once is in the SD Card?
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, the contents of my HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\OBEX\ are the folders Services and Transport. There is no {0000-0000...} folder there. It exists though in the folder Services, so for my device, it is HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\OBEX\SERVICES\{0000...}. After adding the key, the temporary storage for the received file is ideed SD Card so I can grab it before responding to the prompt.
Nevertheless, either if I respond YES or NO for the file save prompt, the file is deleted from SD Card and does not reappear anywhere on the device, so it does not get moved, but deleted.
Notes:
For me it does not matter weather I write "/Storage Card/" or "\Storage Card\", it still receives to Storage Card, but regardless of what I choose, YES or NO, it deletes the file.

tnyynt said:
Unfortunately, the contents of my HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\OBEX\ are the folders Services and Transport. There is no {0000-0000...} folder there. It exists though in the folder Services, so for my device, it is HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\OBEX\SERVICES\{0000...}. After adding the key, the temporary storage for the received file is ideed SD Card so I can grab it before responding to the prompt.
Nevertheless, either if I respond YES or NO for the file save prompt, the file is deleted from SD Card and does not reappear anywhere on the device, so it does not get moved, but deleted.
Notes:
For me it does not matter weather I write "/Storage Card/" or "\Storage Card\", it still receives to Storage Card, but regardless of what I choose, YES or NO, it deletes the file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. This is the best I could get it to work, by just copying or moving the file to another SD Card location (or renaming it) before responding to the prompt. Anyway, this is kind of an old post. I had orginally done this since Dr. Yar crashed on my phone. Since then, I discovered HTC Bluetooth FTP Explorer 1.2, which adds an FTP tab to your Bluetooth Connections settings, where you can specify the default location for incoming bluetooth files.
Thanks for trying it out though!
PS,
I was trying to upload HTC Bluetooth cab, but there is a problem with the database. Anyway, I got it from VP3G's AddOn pack in the Hermes forum. A quick search should find it for you.

dgaud007 said:
Exactly. This is the best I could get it to work, by just copying or moving the file to another SD Card location (or renaming it) before responding to the prompt. Anyway, this is kind of an old post. I had orginally done this since Dr. Yar crashed on my phone. Since then, I discovered HTC Bluetooth FTP Explorer 1.2, which adds an FTP tab to your Bluetooth Connections settings, where you can specify the default location for incoming bluetooth files.
Thanks for trying it out though!
PS,
I was trying to upload HTC Bluetooth cab, but there is a problem with the database. Anyway, I got it from VP3G's AddOn pack in the Hermes forum. A quick search should find it for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know whether you are referring to this (which is inside my rom), but look at my settings. Even with these, Bluetooth still receives to Device and saves to Device\My Documents.

tnyynt said:
I don't know whether you are referring to this (which is inside my rom), but look at my settings. Even with these, Bluetooth still receives to Device and saves to Device\My Documents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. That's it. It works fine for me. Is your SD Card name "Storage Card"? I would also try using the browse button and selecting different folders inside the SD Card.

dgaud007 said:
Yes. That's it. It works fine for me. Is your SD Card name "Storage Card"? I would also try using the browse button and selecting different folders inside the SD Card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried. Same thing!

Well. That is strange. I don't have a Trinity. I have a Hermes. What I would do at this point, is first, try installing the BT FTP cab over your existing one (backup first!). If that doesn't work, try removing/re-inserting the SD Card and also if possible another SD Card. Could there be a write access-protect restriction on your card that forces the OS to use the default My Documents location?
Anyway I have to go back now to my other life , but if I think of something else I'll let you know. Sorry you have problems

OBEX vs FTP
That bluetooth setting is only for FTP transfers. OBEX is the "native" transfer protocol that phones et al. use. Changing the setting for FTP received files doesn't alter the OBEX ones!
I'm going to try Dr Yar, but would love to find a registry setting for this!

I've just found this one as a cure, about to try it..
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-obexinboxex.html

Notification Error

I recently tried to start PicselBrowser.exe from a location other than the default one. It failed and I put it back into it`s default directory and uninstalled/reinstalled it. Now every time I turn on my Apache (WM5) it tells me ''Notification Error'' ''Cannot execute /Storage Card/PicselBrowser.exe'' which is the directory that I mentioned that I had failed to start the program from. Does anyone know how I can stop this message? Thanks.

Any ideas?

Does anyone know of a forum somewhere that would be better suited for this question?

koadansc said:
I recently tried to start PicselBrowser.exe from a location other than the default one. It failed and I put it back into it`s default directory and uninstalled/reinstalled it. Now every time I turn on my Apache (WM5) it tells me ''Notification Error'' ''Cannot execute /Storage Card/PicselBrowser.exe'' which is the directory that I mentioned that I had failed to start the program from. Does anyone know how I can stop this message? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that is a little easy to solve. I had that trouble a while back with another application I was messing with. Here is the solution.
Look into Windows>Start Up folder. In there you will probably see a .lnk file pointing to the OLD PicselBrowser.exe. Since you already moved the OLD PicselBrowser.exe file to a NEW location, then put it back in the same place. Your PPC thinks it is already a NEW file despite the fact that you returned the very same file to its ORIGINAL location. The solution is to replace that .lnk file by creating a shorcut of the NEW PicselBrowser.exe file in another folder, then rename that file to the same name as the one found in Windows>Start Up folder. The next step is a simple cut and paste to replace the lnk file.
The uninstall process probably leaves behind the OLD lnk file or notification to launch the NEW picselbrowser.exe file. So in reality, the lnk file is still searching for the OLD PicselBrowser.exe file. Despite the Uninstall procedure that you performed.
I hope I made it clear for you. Let us know if it works.
Good luck.
---

Thanks for the reply, I am a newb when it comes to technical PPC stuff. I looked in my startup folder and several others and found the following:
poutlook.lnk
sddaemon.lnk
Services.lnk
SpbMobileShell.lnk
None of these appear to be Picsel Browser, I also looked on my Storage Card, nata. Any other ideas? Thanks again!

koadansc said:
Now every time I turn on my Apache (WM5) it tells me ''Notification Error'' ''Cannot execute /Storage Card/PicselBrowser.exe'' which is the directory that I mentioned that I had failed to start the program from. Does anyone know how I can stop this message? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohhhhhhhhh. I have another thoery and again very simple.
What kind of SD Card are you using? I would guess a 4GB one, isn't it? Basically what is happening is that, the built-in SD Card reader of your PPC is not fast enough to read the entire contents of the SD card when you turn it ON. To solve this issue, there should be an option from within Picsel Browser to delay its startup upon turning your device ON.
An alternative solution is to install Picsel Browser in the Main Memory rather than the SD Card.
Another alternative solution is to use a Lower Memory SD Card, say a 2GB SD Card, for faster read.
As a last resort, if you have MemMaid or a powerful Notifications Manager, just delete the pesky notification manually. Why does Picsel Browser need to be read every time you turn your device ON anyway?
Hope this helps.
---

Actually, I am running a 2 GB MiniSD Card and to be honest, I dont know why it is trying to activate PicselBrowser.exe each time I turn on the device. Let me clarify that it is not coming on every time that I do a soft reset, it is every time I press the power button on top of the device. Also, I got this same message when I first tried to run PicselBrowser in it's not default location, which is why I moved it back. Why it has been attempting that operation ever since is a complete mystery to me. Thanks for your help though. I would be clueless without you.

I guess the only thing to try now is delete the notification manually using a Notifications manager. BACKUP 1st is the RULE, before deleting an kind of Notifications.
Another extreme solution is Hard Reset and install from scratch. I know sounds horrifying specially if you have tons of stuff.
---

I'm getting exactly the same error for 'wakeup.exe' for Wisbar Advanced Desktop at the minute, I know that there has been a lot of discussion over at the lakeridge forums but most people have solved the problem by reinstalling several times.
EDIT: i think I may have fixed my problem. try installing picsel browser again without uninstalling it on your pocket pc. See if you get the message about 'all other previous versions will be deleted' just tap yes and continue to install it again. Then see what happens.
(And just as i thought i fixed it, the message appeared again)

I tried to install Picsel Browser over the existing install several times and it did nothing to the error message. I don't know what else to try, any more ideas?

Please, this is really annoying every time I turn on my phone. Any ideas?

I sitll get the same with WAD.

Hey, I fixed this problem simply by copying (NOT CUTTING) the file in question (in my case PicselBrowser.exe) to the directory that it was telling me it could not start from. Hope this helps. Cheers

koadansc said:
Hey, I fixed this problem simply by copying (NOT CUTTING) the file in question (in my case PicselBrowser.exe) to the directory that it was telling me it could not start from. Hope this helps. Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im having this ploblem too...
please.. after deleted the app PicselBrowser... i deleted manualy the others folder files about PicselBrowser..
so i dont have this PicselBrowser.exe to move or put in other place...
can u upload the PicselBrowser.exe file...
that we need to fix this error
thanx

execute picselbrowser.exe from the installed location and delete the one wich is generating errors. It worked for me

missing file issue?

Since I can't post in the q & a forum I am posting here but mods feel free to move it. So I have a wm6.1 device and a Mac computer and I regularly send files, like cab and music files with out an issue. However, today I noticed that I send a music file like usual and the file is no where to be found on the devices however space about the same size as the file is being taken up. So I send another two files(one music and one cab file) with out an issue at all. Then later on I send a cab file, but I don't see it on the device even though space is being take up. This may have happened prior to this, but I didn't realize it or something. So how can A) regain that space by deleting those files not showing up, or B) find the files that are not showing up and use them as I intended to. I am loosing space because of this. Option of last(and I mean last) resort is a hard rest which I don't like to do. Thank you....

yrsmart said:
Since I can't post in the q & a forum I am posting here but mods feel free to move it. So I have a wm6.1 device and a Mac computer and I regularly send files, like cab and music files with out an issue. However, today I noticed that I send a music file like usual and the file is no where to be found on the devices however space about the same size as the file is being taken up. So I send another two files(one music and one cab file) with out an issue at all. Then later on I send a cab file, but I don't see it on the device even though space is being take up. This may have happened prior to this, but I didn't realize it or something. So how can A) regain that space by deleting those files not showing up, or B) find the files that are not showing up and use them as I intended to. I am loosing space because of this. Option of last(and I mean last) resort is a hard rest which I don't like to do. Thank you....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
get a good file browser and search for the missing files. You may want to use a wild card search (*.cab,*.mp3)
if you still can not find them look in the folders in /Windows and /Temp or or equivalent on the device

well i am using total commader so I dunno how good that is or not. Not to mention I have done what you suggested and even searched for files added with in the last 3 days and nothing on all fronts but yet the sapce is being taken up by something that I can't seem to find on my device. Memory maid was no help either(granted I only did a clean up). But thank you.

have you tried using the default file explorer?

Major Problem: Error Code 123

I dont know why but i renamed a file with ALL of my files and mods, cabs, etc in this folder and now it renamed itself to the 'square' symbol.. meaning it doesnt know what the symbol is..
here is a vid
how do i fix this???

From the looks of the reaction, there's a chance that maybe something screwed with your keyboard as well and added some extra character in there? otherwise, it's like a flash memory corruption case where you have to do a full reformat of the system.
One of the veteran winmo users should have a better answer than I do, but that's what it looks like to me.

ya.. except i shouldnt have to format everything else because every other folder and file on the drive is accessible..
i hope to god someone will have the right answer...
(thanks a bunch though mputtr)

try renaming the folder on your computer connect the phone to your computer and access the storage card and try renaming it there. or creating a new "mods" folder and transferring everything to that. Can you access the folder?

i can access the folder but whats inside is blank, it shows nothing.
and ill try the computer thing but i doubt itll work..
this really sucks,,, its two whole months of collecting things that i really dont want to lose... i know we can solve this problem.. should i contact microsoft??

+1 for memory card corruption
Have you tried to check disk it?

whats that?

checkdisk is a software that you can run from your PC that does a full check up on the drive to see if there is any corruption. I do not know if you can target specific drives, but I assume if TehPenguin suggests it, then it would probably be targettable. do a search on your system for chkdsk.exe. Good luck.

it looks like you might have possibly encrypted your storage card, did you encrypt it and do a hard reset or software update?