Database Users

Is your Exec SLOW.....

Only had my Exec for 2 days and so far I have got to say I am not inpressed.
All applications open up so slowly I cant beleive that there is a 520mhz processor in this thing.
You open up an application say "media player" and when your finished you click OK in the corner, You think the program has closed but it hasn't It is still running in the background. Why don't apps close properly?
I have just installed a classic game 'PacMan' Now this is so small you would think the Exec would handle something like Pacman. NOPE. It is just too slow It takes 5 - 10 seconds just to eat one of the yellow dots.
My gripe with this is that it is just too Slow, Has anyone else experienced any problems with slowness.
I have 14 days in which to return it should I not be totally happy and I can honestly say I do not think I will need a week,

Did you try to go to:
Start> Settings> System > Memory > Running Programs
To kill the apps properly, press stop. Then, try to run the game again.

Yes that is how I know that programs are still running even when you think you have closed them. It annoys me that they do not close properly.
Start > Programs > Pocket Excel. Now there is no exit or close function you just have to click ok in top corner, Then you have to go to Start> Settings> System > Memory > Running Programs just to end the program.
You should not have to keep doing this and is only down to poor programming.
I have tried Pacman with nothing running at all and is still slow.
I click on Start and there is even a half seconf pause before the menu appears, navigation is just so sluggish.
If it is only me who thinks this then I possibly have a faulty exec.

Hm.. may I get the link to install pacman on my MDA Pro? If the pacman is still slow, I think it might have been due to the application itself..

Softwares will behave inappropriately if they are not optimised for WM 5.

docc said:
Softwares will behave inappropriately if they are not optimised for WM 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I think Tomtom 5.0 has the same issue as well..

I have installed some nice apps from here and they have some cool classic games.
[url]http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php?cat=27&sortby=rating [/url]

I found the exec to be very slow, so unistall most of the o2 crap, the speed improve alot

What did you uninstall j11333?
Which O2 crap are you talking about?

ukmdb said:
You think the program has closed but it hasn't It is still running in the background. Why don't apps close properly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is by design - all pocket pc apps works this way. It's called smart minimize. When your device starts to run low on memory the apps you used longest ago will be fully closed automatically.
There's a number of different utilities out there that change the default behaviour of the "X" button to actually close rather than smart-minimize. Have a look here in the utilities section on FreewarePPC:
http://www.freewareppc.com

ukmdb said:
I have installed some nice apps from here and they have some cool classic games.
[url]http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php?cat=27&sortby=rating [/url]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the installation, and I can tell you, even though I ran on MDA Pro with no other apps on the background, it is still lagging. Like *really* lagging (I can understand your pain now, *pats*).
FYI, my MDA Pro has been flashed with Jasjar's rom. So, might have been a universal issue (pun intended ).

no1 said:
ukmdb said:
You think the program has closed but it hasn't It is still running in the background. Why don't apps close properly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is by design - all pocket pc apps works this way. It's called smart minimize. When your device starts to run low on memory the apps you used longest ago will be fully closed automatically.
There's a number of different utilities out there that change the default behaviour of the "X" button to actually close rather than smart-minimize. Have a look here in the utilities section on FreewarePPC:
http://www.freewareppc.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you recommend a good one that is compatible with the Universal please?

I've installed Spb Pocket Plus v3.0.4 on mine and it works nicely

ukmdb said:
I click on Start and there is even a half seconf pause before the menu appears, navigation is just so sluggish.
If it is only me who thinks this then I possibly have a faulty exec.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should see a big differance if you turn off error reporting: Start - Settings - System - Error Reporting - Disable Error Reporting

I have tried to play a movie on my Exec via WindowsMediaPlayer and its slow and jerking...
Tried installing TCPMP as another player, but still seems to have the same performance issues.
I have disabled "error reporting" & "Incoming Beams" as mentioned in previous threads....
Not sure its helped at all.
I`m also confussed about the poor performance on such a high spec machine.....

It could be that the encoder you use on the PC to convert the files is actually converting them badly, so it may not be a playback issue at all.
I recommend you try NVIDIA PureVideo: http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_decoder.html

Jdee246 Thanks for the advice,
I have disabled "error reporting" and have noticed a difference.
I have also downloaded small menu that hellps you close all apps with one tap of the screen. http://www.freewareppc.com/utilities/smallmenu.shtml
I have also hard reset the exec 3 times and have tried the Advanced and basic setups but the speed is still not up to what it should be compaired to other pda's

Many thanks CJSnet...
Very good point...
But still feel that the Exec should perform so much better than this..
It has the fastest CPU and Memory than any other modile

I was trying to point out that it may be nothing to do with the Exec performance, if the encoded file is encoded with pauses and lost frames.
However generally we all agree the Universal's performance is terribly poor, and there is another thread where you can see that ROMs are coming out to fix this.

davidberrysmith said:
I've installed Spb Pocket Plus v3.0.4 on mine and it works nicely
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but I was hoping for one that doesn't install lots of other features I don't want and that take up resources.
Any other there that work, and ONLY provide a 'real task close' function to the existing looking button?

keep software running in background continuously on Wizard

I have seen lots of posts that explain how to close running programs,
and how to get memory back.
But I would like to know how I can let software run continuously
in the background.
I put the exe. of the program it in my start-up folder, and after a reset the program runs.
But sometimes during the day I close all other running software, to get
back memory. But when I do, I forget to startup the one that needs to
run in the background continuously.
Can someone please explain how to let it run continuously, without
accidentally closing it ?
tnx.

Is there really no-one here that knows how to do it ?

winny said:
Is there really no-one here that knows how to do it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends which soft you're using to close the whole set of running applications. Some of those applications managers have an option where you can put exceptions, so when you call the close all functionality, all the excluded apps won't be closed.
Cheers,
.Fred

or if u use vbar make ur program active and use the "close all axcept active" option...

How are you closing these apps?
As by default Windows Mobile keeps every app running in the backround (and is why you see so much talk about how to <i>really</i> close applications).

frazell said:
How are you closing these apps?
As by default Windows Mobile keeps every app running in the backround (and is why you see so much talk about how to <i>really</i> close applications).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows mobile just minimize them. In order to close them, you have to post a WM_CLOSE to the main window of an application. This should in most cases be enough to close an app.
Cheers,
.Fred

tnx guys for your help.
I use Wisbar, but I am not sure if there is an option in it to exclude
a program. I will look into it and see if it works.
I was also thinking about making a change in the registry to
keep the software moving.
As I am not a tech-guy, I do not know if this makes sense.
So forgive me, if this sounds stupid.

Having quite the same problem, just another exe - the CardAutoRun.exe, just another device, a Prophet; see my thread here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=278672
I also have a TaskMangager, but there CardAutoRun is not visible at all - and I very seldomly use it to close *all* applications.
Yesterday I did a soft reset, after which the CardAutoRun worked for two tests with two different cards - then I simply switched off my Prophet (sent it to sleep), switched on again - and the next SDcard inserted didn't autostart (as it _did_ just before off/on).
Obviously CheckAutoRun gets kicked out by that automatic task managing of Windows ...?

I found out that Wisbar does a good job.
In Wisbar/Settings/Task Management you can clearly define which
programs need to keep running in the background continuously,
even if you close all at the same time.

It does not work
Now, I thought that Wisbar (or taskmanagers in general)
would do a good job. There still is a problem.
Yes, wisbar (or some other task manager) will keep software
running in the background at startup.
But as soon as I start Internet Explorer, the software that
should keep on running in de background is closed.
No matter how I configure the Taskmanager, as soon as I
start Explorer ALL programs are closed automatically.
Does someone know what is happening here ?

for those who uses msn live messenger..

hope this is the right place to post.. I am using the live 10.6.34.0800 and everything works fine except one part, closing it. I can't option to close the program. If i click on the "x" on top, it only minimize it and even so I can't find it under task manager. The only way to bring it back up is to click on the live.exe short cut again. So far the only way I can really shut down the program is to kill the process. I've used 10.6.33.0600 before and same problem.
Anyone else is experiencing the same thing? How do you go about it.
Thanks,

silvscorp said:
hope this is the right place to post.. I am using the live 10.6.34.0800 and everything works fine except one part, closing it. I can't option to close the program. If i click on the "x" on top, it only minimize it and even so I can't find it under task manager. The only way to bring it back up is to click on the live.exe short cut again. So far the only way I can really shut down the program is to kill the process. I've used 10.6.33.0600 before and same problem.
Anyone else is experiencing the same thing? How do you go about it.
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use a task manager like X Button, HTC Task Manager, WkTask, etc.

That is way it is. If you still like it, use it. Can't argue with MS. There were more older WinCE programs were like that. The argument was why you need to close the programs? I was steamed. Take Pocket Informant as example, it opens automatically when bootup. By default, the "close" option is hidden until you know how to config the program (older version did not have that option). Another example is ActiveSync. It took tons of time to figure out how to control the damn sucker. Tell me who doesn't hate it. In fact you can find custom ROM's in this forum with added feature called "Kill ActiveSync". It is not only can't be close, it starts by itself and drains your batteries. Go figure!

tnyynt said:
Use a task manager like X Button, HTC Task Manager, WkTask, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In general under the "x" for htc task manager, all the active programs will be listed, (active sync, file explorer, etc) but after the Live Messenger is minimized (running in background) it doesn't even show up. Only way to close it is by killing it under task manager or process.
jychan28 said:
That is way it is. If you still like it, use it. Can't argue with MS. There were more older WinCE programs were like that. The argument was why you need to close the programs? I was steamed. Take Pocket Informant as example, it opens automatically when bootup. By default, the "close" option is hidden until you know how to config the program (older version did not have that option). Another example is ActiveSync. It took tons of time to figure out how to control the damn sucker. Tell me who doesn't hate it. In fact you can find custom ROM's in this forum with added feature called "Kill ActiveSync". It is not only can't be close, it starts by itself and drains your batteries. Go figure!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well if this is the way it is with the program then i guess i can kill it through process. Unlike active sync, this drains a lot memory, if I don't kill the program it will just hide in the background and constantly running, if I disconnect wifi, it'll auto connect to data network, so obviously this is a big problem.

Why do Leo's programs only minimise on exit?

What's that about?
I've never used Task Manager so much in my life.
I'm not sure the thinking behind this.

Get the TouchX Taskmanager off this thread...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4947950&postcount=1
Then, on the home tab, drop down the task manager (top right corner) and you can change the options (wrench) so that apps close when you click X. It also gives you a dropdown list of running apps so you can switch between them.
Hope this helps

Thanks John.
It still leaves me baffled though at the choice of doing things the way HTC have done. Surely there's going to be many consumer out there that don't even know what a Task Manager is, who will be running slow phones with no idea why.
Or maybe they all bought an iPhone.

See Here

CHIP STAXMAN said:
Thanks John.
It still leaves me baffled though at the choice of doing things the way HTC have done. Surely there's going to be many consumer out there that don't even know what a Task Manager is, who will be running slow phones with no idea why.
Or maybe they all bought an iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also get Microsoft's perspective on this Here
This is not an HTC issue- PPC and WinMo have always minimised apps by default unless the application itself has a Menu/Quit routine.
HTC have previously utilised their own Task Manager, which for some reason they didn't include in the HD2 hence the need for external apps such as JCM suggested. Maybe they thought 200MB was ample- compared to the 16MB of the early PPC devices?
In general I've not encountered any slowdowns, but I tend not to use many apps that stay memory resident.

If you press and hold the X, instead of just tapping it, it will properly close the program. That option is within the Task Manager on the phone, in the settings of the phone.

madindehead said:
If you press and hold the X, instead of just tapping it, it will properly close the program. That option is within the Task Manager on the phone, in the settings of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't find this option on my brother's HD2 (T-Mobile). I've seen it on all previous devices that I've add.
Will have to try the other suggestions here.

Yep, in my T-Mobile UK build I can only access the SENSE settings and not the windows mobile settings that allows you to change taskbar settings.
Grrr

That's because the task manager button in the home page was removed for this version of Sense. Literally the first thing I did when I got the phone was to find out how to add that back.
I personally think it's a stupid idea, so I'm glad for this wonderful resource that we know as xda!

Dang was hoping for a registry setting,
Any idea how turn turn on windows settings only?

CHIP STAXMAN said:
Thanks John.
It still leaves me baffled though at the choice of doing things the way HTC have done. Surely there's going to be many consumer out there that don't even know what a Task Manager is, who will be running slow phones with no idea why.
Or maybe they all bought an iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having the programs already cached in memory allows faster access with successive uses. windows mobile automatically closes background programs should available memory get too low.
There are many threads on this site about increasing available memory on devices to increase speed, but many of the ideas are counter productive, because best speed is obtained when items are preloaded into memory. this is why there is great performance boost by increasing file system cache and glyth cache ect. but this comes at a memory cost
Slow device will only occur when memory runs out, this is pretty rare on modern phones (Touch pro and onwards) especially when using WM 6.5.
Remember, you have paid for that memory in your phone, so make sure to use it and not leave it empty so you can look at your task manager and see 50% free just to think it makes your phone quicker

rumpleforeskin said:
Remember, you have paid for that memory in your phone, so make sure to use it and not leave it empty so you can look at your task manager and see 50% free just to think it makes your phone quicker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good points rumple.
It's all those years of Windows use that have made me believe that killing processes is the cure for most evils. I'll have to retrain my thinking.

Do minimized programs use much battery?

qweac said:
Do minimized programs use much battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on the program. If it's one that only does things when you interact with it (press buttons, scroll stuff etc.) then no. If it does other things then it may well do, but it obviously varies greatly and depends what it does.

Hero "multitasking"

It started driving me mad. If I minimize browser, I can't be sure it won't close. Not only minimizing for longer periods, but short ones as well - wanted to reply an sms when a page was loading, but when I got back to it, it started over. And all the loaded tabs were gone! Saving states my ass, it takes time to load a page from zero and only the active browsing window remains. How to make this "multitasker" multitask?

does this also happen if you return to the browser by holding home?

kendong2 said:
does this also happen if you return to the browser by holding home?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that's the only way I switch betwen apps.

Have you installed the 'system-based' taskiller mod by any chance (you know, the one that was announced here that automatically keeps memory free by modifying the default thresholds for killing apps)?
If so, I reckon that's the issue! Either that, or you have too much running, so popping the browser into the background makes it a background task and it gets killed cos you're really short of RAM.
Let us know if you have used the tweak though...

@kengdong...
it doesn't matter how you change the apps.
For android it's the same, whether you tap an icon on a homescreen/list or whether you select it from the "task switch" thing... all that does is listing the last recently used applications but still tapping them results in the same internal action.
Source: Android SDK Documentation

I've had pretty much the same issue since I got the phone back in November (I guess I've just gotten used to it by now). I'm never really sure when I switch back to the browser if it will retain the page loaded and any other windows, or if it will reset, close the other windows, and have to reload the active page. I'm on the stock Telus ROM, no custom ROM, not rooted, no tweaks, nothing extra (I've been waiting patiently for 2.1 to come out before messing with custom ROMS).

olafos said:
Source: Android SDK Documentation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx for the heads up, i wasn't sure about this, actually i was asking to maybe get an answer to this worked

anon2122 said:
Have you installed the 'system-based' taskiller mod by any chance (you know, the one that was announced here that automatically keeps memory free by modifying the default thresholds for killing apps)?
If so, I reckon that's the issue! Either that, or you have too much running, so popping the browser into the background makes it a background task and it gets killed cos you're really short of RAM.
Let us know if you have used the tweak though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I have stock rom and I have never used any task killer or related app / tweak.
And I don't run too much stuff.. only music player, messaging and sense's facebook perhaps. If music player is paused, why can't it quit it instead... I prefer multitasking of my past htc s730 which had like 7 megs of free ram after booting.

Even after a hard reset, this behavior remains.

i dont know.. it works fine for me....
1.. maybe there is a setting in the browser.. to always refresh.
2.. you have a repair issue.. Need to take it in to your local service provider repair center. Let them see your issue.

Dan330 said:
i dont know.. it works fine for me....
1.. maybe there is a setting in the browser.. to always refresh.
2.. you have a repair issue.. Need to take it in to your local service provider repair center. Let them see your issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Come on, it's no hardware issue. Most of the time the browser stays, but u just can't be sure about that because it sometimes just closes. I think that it's an issue with Android's STUPID memory management, which also has a scheduled "quit all" script.
Yesterday I opened up a few articles on the browser and decided to read them later. This morning they all remained and I was pleasantly surprised I could read them. This very moment, though, they are gone by now even though I haven't quit the browser - probably that 'quit all' script kicked in.
There could be something in settings, where you could chose apps which would not close ever unless quit..
I would love if Android apps were quitable without any automatic mem management.

Suggest to grab AutoKiller or MinFreeManager, which are just frontends to Android's memory management (also they reapply settings at boot time, as the system file that's being modified is reset every boot.)
See what your current settings are, and lower them (e.g. use "moderate" preset). Just search XDA for autokiller or minfreemanager for more info.

Pressing home should only move that application to the background (pressing back should close it).
If you are pressing home and applications are still closing then there must be a task killer of some sort in place closing it for you.

Lennyuk said:
Pressing home should only move that application to the background (pressing back should close it).
If you are pressing home and applications are still closing then there must be a task killer of some sort in place closing it for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You obviously have not read the topic.
No task killers, tasks dont neceaarily close, its juast that u cant be sure they will remain in memory.

Lennyuk said:
If you are pressing home and applications are still closing then there must be a task killer of some sort in place closing it for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes - it's the standard Android process management rather than a 3rd party task killer.
I guess the browser is given a low priority and is one of the first apps to be killed.
Regards,
Dave