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.

Problems recognising .mpeg files

Hi i have an o2 xda orbit
I installed flash player and was able to download short movie clips and open these just fine.
The next day i tried to do it, when i clicked to download a video it asked me to save...
however this time i was not given any option to open upon save and when i did complete the download and tried to open the short movie file i get an error message telling me that there is no associated programme with this file.
Can someone help me with this? please email [email protected]
HELP HELP! this may be a simple problem but i am totally baffled! This is also my first time on this site so if someone can help me place this thread in a better position let me know.
Thanks
Keith

havent messed alot with flashplayer but as far as i know it only play flash stuff
mpeg require something like
http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php?soft=1080 to play
depending on which extentions it associate with you may have ot change the extention from .mpeg to .mpg thats more common

[Q] Renaming Files and Folders

Hi all,
Loving my Optimus 3D but can't seem to work out how to rename files and folders. I know once you have taken a photo it gives you the option to Rename, but I was wondering how I could go back and rename photos and video files, and folders from before (without connecting to my computer). Anyone know?
Also can you create folders within the phone for content? And can you organize content in the Applications section, e.g. sorting Downloads in order or placing them in different categories.
Any help would be much appreciated
Cheers

karlgent said:
Hi all,
Loving my Optimus 3D but can't seem to work out how to rename files and folders. I know once you have taken a photo it gives you the option to Rename, but I was wondering how I could go back and rename photos and video files, and folders from before (without connecting to my computer). Anyone know?
Also can you create folders within the phone for content? And can you organize content in the Applications section, e.g. sorting Downloads in order or placing them in different categories.
Any help would be much appreciated
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To rename files and folders and create folders on your phone you'd have to have an explorer app that allows you to browse your filesystem. I'm not aware of any browser apps that don't require root (ie. Astro or Root Explorer) but then again, I've never had the need for one and always had my phones rooted.
You might wanna be carefull when renaming folders and files though.
I don't think the standard launcher allows changing the contents of the applications drawer.

Thanks for the response, appreciate it. At the risk of sounding like a total noob, what do you mean when you say having your phone rooted? I'm total new to smart phones and always just had an old simple mobile.
Also, is the Optimus 3D like the iPhone in that you need to hack it to install apps downloaded from your PC for free or can you install any apps via PC

get "estrongs file explorer". it's free and does many many many more amazing things than just letting you rename files without root requirement.

karlgent said:
Thanks for the response, appreciate it. At the risk of sounding like a total noob, what do you mean when you say having your phone rooted? I'm total new to smart phones and always just had an old simple mobile.
Also, is the Optimus 3D like the iPhone in that you need to hack it to install apps downloaded from your PC for free or can you install any apps via PC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting a phone basically gets you super access, kind of like having an administrator account on Windows. It comes in handy for example when you want to use custom roms, get complete file access, use screenshot tools etc.
And an Android phone is in no way an iPhone when it comes to installing apps. There's an option that when turned on allows the installation of apps you didn't get from the Market (it's in the Application section of your options menu). Presuming you only use free programs you downloaded you can just put the .apk file on your internal or external sd card and install it, either by using a file browser (such as the mentioned Estrong) to find the apk or using a separate app installer which you can download from the Market.

Awesome, thanks for the reply really appreciate it, and I actually understand it now.
So if I downloaded and installed an app or game from the internet for free, that usually had to be bought on the Android market or from Gameloft for example, could you get in trouble or banned/blocked in any way?
Sorry if this is a noob/inappropriate question
Cheers

no. google actiually lets you do what you want with your device.

Awesome, good to know. I'm really wanting the Gangstar games from gameloft but they aren't available to purchase via Gameloft yet. I can download the pirated versions and install them, but would Gameloft cause any problems when I did so or would I always have to play in airplane mode?

Most pirated software works just like the original version, just check if there's any installation instructions. The biggest disadvantage in my opinion is not being able to update pirated software through the Market.

You can use Polaris Office included in the phone as file explorer for all the naming, copying etc.. The name is a bit misleading

Nice, I didn't know that Polaris was a glorified file browser. Works great for viewing, editing and removing files and folders.
So, to the topicstarter, this is all you need to do the things you want. You can edit your filesystem and browse to your downloaded apps to install them (for example create a map called DownloadedApps, connect your phone to your pc, copy any downloaded apps to the map you created, disconnect, use Polaris to browse to the DownloadedApps map and click on any app you want to install).
If you want to rename a file or folder just long press on it and you'll be presented with all the options you need.

Yeah, I just had a play around with it, looks and works really good. Thanks for all the help folks much appreciated.
PS - If anyone could provide instructions and a link on how to install the Gangstar games (hereby showing me how to install ripped games at the same time) I would very much appreciate it. Been having no luck getting it to work

[Q] Edit Android .dat files

I wonder if anybody knows what program is needed to edit Android dat and idx files. Ideally I would prefer a Windows program but Android or Linux will also do.
Thanks.

I wish I knew too.
Trying to get older version of My Country when GameCiH wasn't prevented.

necromancy warning...
lug said:
I wonder if anybody knows what program is needed to edit Android dat and idx files. Ideally I would prefer a Windows program but Android or Linux will also do.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was doing the same thing. I have found a rough solution. Hex Editor on Android will open and edit, with root. This is far from ideal. Hopefully someone will see these posts and provide a template or application for these specific file formats .dat and .idx.
I have seen individual apps for Windows that will hack apps, mostly games. I am not keen on downloading or using these. One- I don't do Windows, but can if absolutely necessary. Two- these may very well be virii...
I miss the good ole ResEdit days. I will check ResEdit & Resourcer when I get time and report back. This means getting the archives out. These apps used to have extensive file editing templates, mostly Mac.

[Q] where are xap files stored in phone after download?

Hi, I want to copy xap files I download directly on my phone but don't know where they get stored before installation.
Please can someone help me locate the folder so I can back them up?
The reason why I want to do this is because I want to create a folder on my PC and in SkyDrive with all the apps I install like I used to do with cab files for windows mobile.
I'm going to be on wp7 for w long time and apps come and go, particularly homebrew ones and having the original xap files stored would be of great use to me.
I know that some programs on the marketplace can be directly downloaded to your PC but this is not the case for all apps and also requires you to use your PC exclusively when most of us download apps via our phones.
Having them all stored on SkyDrive would also make reinstalling a easy process (WP app reinstall option never works for me) and could be done away from my PC.
Thanks in advance, Steve.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=36965094&postcount=4
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2084372
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28529684&postcount=3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1804622

mikaelel said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=36965094&postcount=4
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2084372
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28529684&postcount=3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1804622
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not clicked on the link yet but thanks in advance.
I did do a search both here and on the wider web but found nothing.
Steve.

Ok, I've looked at all the links and the bottom one provides me with all the info I need, shame WP has to rename the files and make life unnecessarily hard but it can still be done.
Thanks again, Steve.